Bell of Sanctuary
by The Mage of The Beginning
Summary: "This god... this demon... I want him to remain nameless. His lust for power is fueled by terror and infamy. Men at sea can fear the Kraekan, but give this vile god no name." BellxHarem
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people, apologies for the slow update but yeah shit happens. Anyway, this is my new semi-but-not-quite-full-maybe-ish crossover between Dungeon and Salt and Sanctuary.** ** **There not being a Salt an Sanctuary category either does not help. So u** ntil I receive confirmation or FF add a Salt and Sanctuary category, this is going to remain as a non-crossover but that may change.  
**

 **My other story is not dead; I'm just trying to figure out how to balance the power scale between Issei and the rest of the universe. I mean shit son, Io apparently governs more than half of the four fundamental energies of existence. Who in the hell could stand up to that!?**

 **On another note though, I do need to find a beta at some point.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

"Uggh." Bell groaned as he slowly returned to consciousness, seawater dripping off him in small rivulets as he did so.

Wait seawater?

Crimson eyes shot open as he started to look around in panic. Where was the boat!? Hadn't he been sailing the way to Orario to fulfil his ambition of being an adventurer?

But then a more urgent question came to his mind as he gazed around the desolate beach.

"Where am I?"

His question echoed across the sands only to be met with the sound of the waves crashing on the empty shore.

A shiver wracked his frame, the unnatural chill of the black sea sinking into his bones. He stood up shakily. He needed to find shelter. Fast if what he'd learned about hypothermia was true.

"Well, hello there." a new voice broke in suddenly causing the white haired boy to jump in fright. He whipped his head around, hand shooting to the handle of his dagger only to relax when he laid eyes on the speaker. It was an old man, dressed in rotten brown rags and leaning against a long roughly hewn wooden staff.

A crooked grin spread across his bearded face.

"Tell me" he asked, his salt-caked rags shifting in the sea wind, "do you keep the new gods?"

* * *

Another Retchfeeder fell, bursting into a fountain of gore and waste as Bell's Pessclaw dagger rent it's screeching head from it's shoulders. A quick follow-up bursts of Flashfire from his antler wand quickly reduced the corpse into ash leaving behind a glimmering pile of white dust.

Dust which soon found itself being syphoned into his body as though swept up by an incorporeal gust of wind.

A sigh escaped his lips as he felt the familiar sensation of salt empowering him. How long had it been since he had arrived on this god forsaken island where only monsters trod? This island which appeared to use salt of all things as a substitute to the soul gems!? Time was hard to keep track of when the sky refused to shift from it's perpetually clouded setting. By his estimation, it had only been at most a few days since he had first dubiously taken up the creed of the Lady of Light and set out to explore the island. He had yet to see any signs of a viable escape method.

There were others on other than himself on this island; the strange masterless knight he'd met on the bridge between the Sodden Knight's castle and Bandit's Pass for one. He'd been so hopeful at meeting another sane human being at first. But his brief hope had been dashed when the knight told him he knew of no way off of the island, nor any knowledge of where the island itself was. He had however offered some valuable knowledge of how to access the vast castle further up the pass and of the village which lay beneath the banquet.

He shuddered as the memories of that horrid place surfaced in his mind. The 'smiles' in the name 'Village of Smiles' did indeed refer to the villagers; only said villagers were dead. Men, women, and children alike hung crucified to the walls with their mouths cut open in twisted parodies of grins. And even now, the gaping visage of the Queen of Smile's jawless face would haunt him from the black depths of his mind. His breath started to come short, as though a great weight was pressing down around him, the very atmosphere seemed to drown him in despair as he started to sink to his...

"No."

He straightened, fists clenching beneath the rouge armour he'd plundered from the festering castle. He'd sworn by the name of his late grandfather, that come hell or high water he would escape this murky purgatory. Sworn that he would escape and fulfil his dream becoming an adventurer and attaining a harem. Not that the former part wasn't technically already fulfilled he thought with an ironic chuckle. He bet that his grandfather would never have expected him to experience an adventure quite like this; hell he doubted anyone, not even the gods would have been able to fathom such a place.

"▃▃▄▄▅▅▅"

A roar bellowed across the cobbled keep as the Kraekan Cyclops let loose a cry of rage and challenge, daring Bell to pass the demonic candelabra not two feet away which marked the edge of it's domain.

His hand shook briefly as the roar penetrated the light armour, rattling his bones and shaking his resolve before he steadied once more.

He took a deep breath and let it out gently. The Pessclaw dagger and Antler Baton which he usually favoured vanished into glowing orange embers. The rules of the island were different from his world, that much had been obvious to Bell when he absorbed the salt of the first rotten walker he had killed. Food and drink also seemed to be unnecessary, his body sustaining itself somehow without any form of nutritional intake.

But the greatest boon he found himself possessing, was that of the ability to 'store' his equipment away.

The precise mechanics escaped him, but he did figure out that any equipment he possessed but was not presently using would dissolve into glowing embers as soon as it left his person. Should he have need of that same equipment, all he had do to was will it to come forth and the embers would appear once more to form into what he desired.

In this case, the embers reformed into a single-edged great sword. The very great sword which the Sodden Knight had once wielded, recreated by the hands of an alchemist using the ashes which Bell had harvested from the great knight's corpse after he slew him on his tower.

Quickly tying on the mossy charm he had found in the Watching Woods for some added speed, Bell hefted the heavy Shrouded Bulwark upon his shoulder and stepped across the border.

A battle cry of his own tore from his throat as he strafed to the side of the cyclops's axe and drew first blood by carving a deep rent into it's thick leg. The spine covered giant roared and slashed at the leather clad albino with it's tree sized axe, sending cobblestones flying as it tore a jagged trench into the ground.

Bell simply rolled to the side, his superior agility allowing him to easily avoid the brutish swing before leaping up and hurling a Birian Firepot at it's exposed back.

"▃▃▄▄▅▅▅"

The cyclops screamed as the burning tar like substance seared it's flesh and swung wildly with it's fist, catching Bell right across his midsection only for him to bounce right back after quaffing a bottle of red water.

Again and again, adventurer and beast clashed. Neither willing to kneel to the other.

* * *

How long had it been? Weeks? Months? Years? Bell no longer knew as he perched on a shining platform of blue light. The mysterious block of hardened moonlight glimmered beneath him, made corporeal by the burning torch in his hand through the power of the Hardlight brand.

Down below him, the spherical protrusions of the Dome of the Forgotten gleamed dimly, forlornly. Even now he could hear the faint, mournful whispering of the Whispermen and Whisper Ladies. Forever bound to roam the accursed halls which they once walked as the clergy of Devera.

"Why does this keep happening?" he asked into still night air, almost as though he was begging the starlit sky to answer him.

Why did everything keep coming back? Every time he purged an area of the beasts which populated it, they simply reappeared when he returned to a sanctuary.

He glanced at his hand, where Luna Sage had burned the Hardlight brand into his flesh; just as the Jester, Mirekeeper and Despondent Thief had seared their own brands of power onto different parts of his body.

The sage, much like the rest of the people he met knew very little of the island as a whole. What he did know however was the history of the hallowed domes which bell found him in.

A frown of confusion marred his face as he recalled Luna Sage's explanation of the history of the Dome. Something wasn't right with how the information added up. As a follower of Devera himself, he had gained the innate ability to recognize the faint presence of her light in places like shrines and sanctuaries.

"So why," he wondered aloud "can I not sense even a scrap of the light's presence in a place as holy as the Dome of Light?"

Before it became known as the Dome of the Forgotten, it was known as The Dome of Light, a sacred place dedicated to the worship of Devera. Even when reduced to its present state, there should have been at the very least some residual divine power, yet there was none to be felt.

Another odd discrepancy was the presence of the Bronze Knights which dotted the halls. He had yet to find information regarding any possible historical existence of the silent sentinels. Which begged the question as to why they kept appearing in places they had no link to. Everything else had at least something to connect it to the place it occupied; the armour mites were cave dwellers and as such resided in Hager's Carven, the Whisperfolk were bound to the domes by their slayers when they were still clergy, and the colossal Armour Guardians were commissioned by the king of the castle they guarded.

So where did the knights fit in? More importantly, why were they the only ones other than the area guardians that stayed dead after he killed them?

He shook his head. Pondering that mystery now would yield nothing more than a headache without more conclusive evidence.

Absently, the Masterless Knight's words started to drift into his mind. How he described his heart being the most at peace during a quest.

Well...it couldn't hurt could it? There wasn't exactly anyone around who would judge him for his choice. But what should his quest be? Bell wondered before laying eyes on the Dome once more.

Of course.

"I, will save you." he declared without ceremony to the emptiness around him.

This island...simply escaping was no longer a viable option; not now that he'd learned there was a chance that every monster was actually a poor soul. Dragged into despair and corrupted by the island. Bound to forever roam its desecrated shores.

"I promise," he continued resolutely "that I will become strong. That I will gain the power to free you all and destroy this forsaken place." He held out a fist, as though daring the island to rise to his challenge, "This I swear upon the name of Devera, who's light I follow. My quest shall be to lay them all to rest. So mote it be."

He pumped his fist heroically into the air. The same way he did all those years ago, when he had childishly sworn in front of his grandfather to gather a harem. Good days, he thought, smiling stupidly all the while.

Suddenly the air grew warm, curling around him as though it were embracing him. The sound of thousands of shining bells seemed to fill his mind.

 _'I hear your words, Child of Light, and I accept your oath.'_

'Wha...!" Bell nearly dropped the torch in shock, looking around wildly for the invisible speaker.

When it was evident that none would show themselves, he finally settled his highly strung nerves (born of avoiding many tripwires and other traps) enough to truly ponder what he'd heard.

"What did it mean by 'Child of Light'? Was it referring to me?" he muttered to himself. "If so, then it would have..to...be..." His eyes widened at the fantastical conclusion he found himself coming to about the identity of the speaker.

"No way." he uttered in shock.

There was only one person who was said to be able to directly commune with Devera: Alasdair, True Priest of Light, Voice of Her Voice and, later, The Untouched Inquisitor. The one responsible for the desolation of the Domes.

But that was impossible, for the Inquisitor had fallen at his own hands only recently. Burned into ashes by blasts of arcane fire.

Which meant...

He was so caught up in his pondering of the possible implications of this revelation that he'd forgotten to monitor the level of his torch.

The platform shuddered, the torch which sustained it flickering as it started to burn out.

"...Crap."

He fell.

Again.

Never noticing how the irises of his eyes briefly flickered to burning white gold.

* * *

He was close, he could sense the dark root of the island's power nearing. Each step through the moss covered Crypt bought him nearer and nearer to the wretched being which had dragged him and so many others into this cursed purgatory.

Time no longer mattered to him. Every place he travelled through, every pitiful creature he slew only tempered his resolve to bring an end to the island.

The truth, it was clearer to him now than it had ever been. The Black Sands Sorcerer had confirmed his theories when he shared that all the places on the island; The Sodden Knight's Castle, The Sunken keep, The Castle of Storms... They were all real places, copied or more accurately 'collected by the island'. His inability to remember the exact circumstances of arriving or his past only cemented it, for it would seem that the island did not just collect places but people as well.

They were the dead; drowned at sea and their souls claimed by the island to appease it.

Except for him.

In his haste to escape, he had not noticed the lack of what he considered common knowledge.

Askaria, Coastrock, Kulka'as. Saltborn, creeds, new gods, old gods, the Kraekan...

They were all supposedly well known terms but Bell had never heard any mention of them before he ended up on the island. In turn, he made his own enquiries about common terms from his own knowledge; terms like 'adventurer', 'familia' and 'Orario'.

Not one person he asked could answer him, which lead him to the most horrifying conclusion he had ever faced.

Different places, different gods, a different system of belief...

He was in a different world. It was the only explanation which explained why nothing was familiar to him and why nobody knew about something as famous as the dungeon city.

The monsters which he slew, save the kraekan, were the souls which had already surrendered to the island, had knelt in defeat and been consumed by its insatiable hunger.

Peasants, nobles, kings, gods...

It made no difference to the island as it devoured them all. Even The Three, the trinity deities of The King, Knight and Judge had been claimed. He'd seen the truth of their faithless existence with his own eyes when he traversed the aptly named Tomb of the Dead Gods.

Killing them had been an act of mercy, freeing them from their tormented existence.

Had he himself knelt that day, that day with the Kraekan Cyclops which seemed so long ago, he too would have been no more. Merely another thrall like poor Broken Cran had become.

But no more. Bell thought as he weaved around another blast of lightning from the Kraekan Lord Skourzh's trident. Soon, he would bring this all to an end.

His muscles flexed and heaved beneath his armour as he brought the titanic bulk of the great Earthsplitter to bear against the storm summoner's thick hide.

"RAAAH!" He screamed as the colossal great axe, augmented by a thick coat of burning Pitchfire, managed to brutally amputate one of the greater kraekan's tentacles before crashing heavily against the damp stone.

Blinded by pain but still cognisant, the kraekan seized his moment of weakness and started to charge a roar of pure electricity within it's maw.

"Hah...Hah..." Bell could only look on, resigned, as the torrent of storm wrought power thundered towards him. He had no stamina left to attempt a dodge; not with the mountainous weight of his weapon dragging him down. Quaffing a vial of blessed water might save him but even then, his current equipment was simply not fitted against a lightning user of this calibre.

So instead, he settled for some thing else.

"I am coming for you!" he screamed out in Old Dialect, the strange language of the island which he had learned from the Sorcerer of Black Sands. His words echoed around the vast chamber which housed the kraekan lord's massive bulk, resonating down the dark passage which it so meticulously guarded.

For an instance there was nothing.

And then, the air trembled.

Just ever so slightly as though it had heard him.

Bell smiled, a small crescent of self-satisfied defiance.

And his world exploded into crackling light.

* * *

"It's time you knew my name." the old man said as both he and Bell stood at the precipice between the Crypt and the Still Palace.

Bell merely nodded at him from beneath the angled helm of Carsejaw the Cruel. The armoured plates clicking against each other beneath the thick black mantle as he did so.

"There was a time when I held many titles. Men knew me by other names as well. But titles, fame, infamy... it is worthless here. On this island, Jaret is my name." The newly minted Jaret took a breath to compose himself before continuing.

"Envy is such a thing. A man envies his neighbour, whose wife is very beautiful. A lord envies a king, who commands nobles. A king envies a god, to whom all men must bow." nostalgia tinted his tone as he turned his gaze down.

"And a god envies... a god envies what a god cannot have." He looked up, regret radiating from his onyx eyes.

"I wanted so much from life. Satisfaction eluded me. And the things I prayed for... well... would you believe a god actually answered my prayers?"

Bell said nothing, merely standing as a silent witness to Jaret's confession.

"These things... this life... this island..." he gestured mockingly around them "Such is my reward. Fantastic power, a lifetime of servitude, and a purgatorial existence in this still place."

He turned his back to Bell, to face the snow white visage of the inverted palace.

"The god of this island is the god that answered my prayers." he stated causing Bell to jerk sharply. The first movement he'd made since the impromptu confession started. "His existence is one of insatiable lust for something a god can never have: to be born of light. He preyed on the greedy, collecting on the debts of kingdoms and countries in some mad, mad hope of collecting that thing he shall never have."

He turned back to Bell.

"Alas... we are born of Salt, bound by Sanctuary. We are the eternally dead. All except for you." he stated.

"This island lies deep beneath the depths of the sea, it is everywhere and yet nowhere. All who meet their end at the hands of the sea are drawn to this island, to this drowned purgatory. But you... you are neither born of Salt, nor are you born of light; an existence which should not exist in this world."

He grinned, not the crooked grin which he had greeted Bell and so many others with, but a genuine grin of hope.

"An existence which even He could not predict." he declared grandly before his eyes hardened.

"This god... this demon... I want Him to remain nameless. His lust for power is fueled by terror and infamy. Men at sea can fear the Kraekan, but give this vile god no name."

For a long time, all Bell did was stare at the old man. The white dust which so fell like snow from the black sky, nestling in the fur of his black mantle.

And then, he spoke. A single phrase of Old Dialect, causing The old man's gaze to bore into him, judging him beneath ancient scrutiny.

"...Once you go down, there will be no going back. His foul energy cancels the power of the Bells and Horns. As the absolute ruler of this island, even sanctuary cannot save you from being slain..." he stated with no emotion in his tone.

"...So?" came the confused reply.

"...Heh."

The old man chuckled, his mirth shaking his frail body before finally erupting into a joyous exclamation of mirth. He laughed like he had just been told the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, the foreign sound echoing out across the vast space that so enveloped them both.

"Of course you would say that." he replied at last through his laughter "You are the Child of Light after all."

Even as he slowly disintegrated away into particles of salt, his raucous laughter still lingered before petering off into the void.

For a while, Bell simply remained standing stoically. Head angled to the black sky which so gently wept white tears. Simply enjoying the silent tranquillity and, dare he say it, peace, that existed around the Still Palace.

How long he stood, he did not know; time having long since lost it's meaning to him and his unaging body. He had no idea how long he'd been on the island. But be it years or even centuries, it was soon going to end.

Slowly bringing his gaze back to bear at the white archway, he took a deep breath and released it gently, sending the white particles fluttering around him.

"..."

Resolutely, he strode into the darkness. Not so much as a shred of hesitation to be found in his stride.

He was going to end this. One way or another.

* * *

Every place on the island was unique in it's own way. From the Shivering Shore where he had first awakened to the bizarre Crypt of the Dead Gods; each inspired it's own sense of twisted wonder within Bell as he traversed them.

It therefore spoke volumes when Bell found himself struck silent with awe at the monochromatic interior of the Still Palace. Thousands upon thousands of candles lined the many alcoves in it's reversed walls, a gesture he now recognized as a symbol of what the master of the island desired the most: a candlelit soul.

He wondered if the strange jester who wielded the brand of Vertigo would've liked it here.

"..."

"Pfft..Hahaha!" he shook with amusement as the preposterous image of a confused jester trying to work out what was up and what was down appeared in his mind.

"Hah~" he sighed "I needed that. Been too long since I had a good laugh." A statement that rang only all too true. With no need to for sleep or sustenance, the only thing he could do to keep himself sane was to keep killing monsters and growing stronger.

He tilted his head slightly.

Now that he thought about it, wasn't that what would drive people insane in the first place? But then again, when you've reached the point where the default course of action when confronted with a locked chest is to attempt to kill it in case it mutates into a tentacle monster, sanity was probably a relative concept.

Shrugging his plated shoulders, Bell decided to enjoy the scenery for a bit more before confronting the supposed god of the island. Maybe make one last tour of the island again as well, seeing as he _was_ facing a god.

Time, was one of the few things he had an abundance of.

* * *

The drop was a lot longer than he expected, thought Bell as he peered carefully down the sheer drop which lay past the all too familiar candelabra. The torch which he had thrown down had been choked to death by the darkness long before he heard it hit the ground. Even the second one which had been augmented by a small Lantern charm tied to it did not fare better.

Well...that left one option if he didn't want to break his legs the moment he landed.

He held out his hand, the familiar embers coalesced to form the Mosaic Culverin, a large hand cannon which he had obtained by giving an alchemist the fragments of The Coveted he had managed to scavenge after it shattered.

Instead of loading it with ammunition however, he instead summoned one of the grenados he had and carefully removed the fuse before tipping almost all of the black flash powder into the barrel. Discarding the empty shell, he next brought forth a glowing orange flask of liquid fire; something he had learned to create during his brief stint as a Keeper of Fire and Sky. Carefully, he poured a measure of the volatile substance in to mix and solidify with the flash powder.

Checking that the mixture had properly solidified, Bell let out a sigh of relief.

Normally, he had enough skill to be able to directly summon ammunition into pistols directly. But the exponentially more powerful flash powder and liquid fire combination had to be done by hand due to the volatile nature of both concoctions.

Pistol Air Braking was a technique he'd developed to help deal with the many sheer drops which barred his way. The first pistol he'd found had been horribly inadequate, the shot had a wide spread but did little damage to what it did hit. What he did notice however was that it did have quite a bit of knockback. And so, after some extensive testing and broken limbs, the Pistol Air Brake was born.

Originally, he had to use two of the original flintlocks to compensate for the force of gravity. But with the large lodestone augmented Mosaic, loaded with his special 'Impen compound', he was confident that he could jump down the centre of the Red Hall of Cages and survive. Of course the deceleration would probably tear his arms out of their sockets, but he _would_ survive.

The black abyss yawned at him, calling him.

If he descended, there would be no going back.

A sardonic smile graced his lips.

"It's time my quest ended, and another begins." he said to himself. Despite what he had been through, despite the vile and twisted sights he had witnessed after when he made his oath to himself and Devera, despite all this... he was happy.

The quest he had embarked one was neither easy nor glorious. No-one would ever know of what he had done, what he had sacrificed.

But it was a quest he could be proud of. And even if he fell against this last adversary, he could honestly say that he did not regret his promise.

He _would_ regret not picking up any girls though. There wasn't exactly a wide choice on the island as every person he knew _was_ technically dead.

And with that cheerful thought he jumped.

* * *

The air whipped around Bell as he fell, sending his black mantle billowing around him like the feathers of a great crow. The Mosaic was grasped firmly in both of his gauntleted hands as he struggled to keep the bulky hand cannon pointed down between his feet.

"Wait for it..." he muttered, the words devoured by the wind around him.

BOOM!

A conflagration of celestial fire and flash powder exploded with the wrath of an angry god beneath him as he pulled the trigger, the recoil nearly dislocating his shoulders as he was violently decelerated from free-fall.

Dismissing the smouldering weapon, he landed nimbly as his greave encased feet impacting the stone floor with a terrific crack.

He looked up, and saw Him.

Dull silver plates of arcane metal covered every inch of the being, the light of the candles which lined the chamber reflecting dully from them. A tattered cape similar to his own was clasped to the arcing ribs of metal which protruded from His pauldrons. But what truly cemented the identity of this being was not His armour nor the red great blade which He wielded.

It was the vast, unlit candelabra which was fixed to His back. The symbol of the one thing that _He_ coveted most: a candlelit spirit.

The oppressive miasma which the island was so heavily steeped in poured forth from the hulking being in front of him, rolling off like waves of venomous fog. Here stood the heart of the island's power, the linchpin which kept it's existence anchored into reality.

Before him stood the Nameless God.

The last and final foe in his quest.

Slowly, the turbaned helm lowered it's gaze to his easily dwarfed form.

The crimson slab of a great sword shifted in His grasp.

With a flurry of orange sparks, both the Leviathan and Scharfrichter blades appeared in Bell's waiting hands.

A few muttered words of prayer caused both weapons to light up with shining yellow light as Devera's blessing was channelled into them.

The ground cracked beneath two sets of armoured feet.

And the two titans clashed.

* * *

Black Umbral metal met red as the ivory edges of the Scharfrichter clashed against the Nameless God's own Blade of Envy. Neither fighter willing to give so much as an inch to their adversary.

"Damn...it!" Bell cursed as he abandoned the Leviathan blade to put both hands into wielding the pointed Scharfrichter. This fight was taking far too long to end, he'd already gone through almost all of his cloths and waters of blessing. The thrice-damned god simply wasn't taking enough damage. What was worse was that he could feel the aura of despair which cloaked his foe slowly wearing him down. Just being able to stand required immense mental fortification let-alone lasting for so long against him in close combat.

His forcibly stilled his trembling hands as he tried desperately to think of anything which might work. Fire, thunder, holy, arcane and poison had all proved barely effective against the hulking giant. Even the triangular great sword he currently wielded, said to be sharp enough to cut space, only nicked the god's armour.

Blood dripped down from between the plates of his own protection. Water of Blessing only healed to a certain extent, and was incapable of healing serious injuries without repeated usage; something he could not afford with his already mostly depleted stores.

Suddenly the god screamed, an inhuman shriek of rage, and sprinted at the momentarily stunned albino. A white rain of arcane light flanking Him.

Bell swore, rolling to the left as the red sword came crashing down and in the same split-second summoning a silver shield to block the arcane projectiles. As soon as he felt the rain cease, he quickly dismissed the shield, rolled to the side of the expected slash and let loose with a swing of the freshly summoned Bonebreaker. The clang of the blow was music to his ears as the Nameless god was sent flying back into the stone wall.

Normally, the god would have simply shrugged off the blow and peeled Himself from indentation His body had caused.

But it just so happened, that the section of wall which He was slammed into had already been weakened by the repeated strikes laid upon it. Thus instead of simply cracking more, it partially collapsed instead; trapping the god in a mound of stone.

Capitalizing on the opportunity, Bell called the Mosaic to his hands once more and fired it behind him, sending him catapulting forward with a blast of flash powder.

"RAAAGH!" a battle cry tore from his lips as he poised the Tainted Ranseur he'd summoned in his other hand to stab into the blackness which lay behind the turbaned helm.

"Please, please, please..." Bell begged to Devera as the razor sharp tip of the corrupted poleaxe drew closer and closer.

CLANG!

What!?

Bell had aimed true, the five-pointed head of the polearm had penetrated deep into the Nameless God's helm.

He twisted the shaft.

The spearhead turned easily, meeting no resistance in the helm.

As though there was nothing there.

Something heavy settled in Bell's stomach even as the Nameless God wrenched a hand free of the rubble and began pulling at the spear. If the helmet was empty...What if there was nothing inside the rest of the armour!?

The poleaxe was suddenly dismissed, and in the momentary window of confusion he replaced it with the clawed Staff of Saira, jamming the magical implement into the helm as deep as he could.

"BURN!" he screamed, pouring everything he had into the infernal staff.

Dragonfire spewed forth from the clawed end, blasting deep into the interior of the armour and causing gouts of white hot fire to burst from every joint.

The Nameless god simply took hold of the staff like He did the spear and resumed trying to yank it free of His helm. His empty helm, uncaring of the searing torrent which was coursing through it.

 _'What do I do? What do I do!?'_

A combination of panic and despair began to cloud Bell's mind as he tried desperately to keep the staff wedged in the god's helmet. The stream of fire was beginning to splutter as his willpower faded.

For the first time since he had arrived, Bell fully comprehended the despair which had claimed so many before him.

A weight descended upon him as he began to kneel. His strength leaving him as the dead staff clattered to the ground and dispersed into red embers.

Darkness closed in on him.

The Nameless God had finally freed himself of the rubble and raised His crimson blade above him, like the hanging blade of a guillotine.

Bell lowered his head.

...

But then he heard them.

The peals of a thousand bells surrounded him once more, banishing the despair which had flooded his mind and replaced it with warm strength and resolve.

 _'Do not give up, Child of Light.'_

The voice, Devera's voice rang from within him like the chime of a great bell, repelling the darkness which dared to encroach upon him.

As the darkness retreated, memories began to flood his mind.

The death of his parents.

The smiling face of his late grandfather.

His decision to become an adventurer.

His arrival onto the nameless island.

The horrors he had faced.

The promise he had made.

As though sensing his change, the Nameless God quickly brought down His blade, seeking to cleave him from shoulder to hip.

CLANG!

Only for it to be blocked by single, glowing white blade grasped in his foe's gauntlet.

The blade was not one of the many which Bell had found, nor was it one that he had created from the remains of his enemies.

It was the same humble dagger which he had been carrying when he first arrived on the island. The single weapon which lay outside of the island's domain.

The weapon which carried within it the memories of Bell's grandfather; the one who had bequeathed the blade to him.

"Heh. That's right isn't it." he muttered, a sardonic yet resolute smile forming beneath his helm. "I swore to save you all." Slowly he began to stand, the red sword above him straining as it was pushed back by the tiny knife.

He raised his head proudly, crimson irises igniting into burning circles of white gold fire causing the eye holes of his helm to ignite into white circles.

He smiled.

"That includes you." he flicked his wrist and with a great scream of metal, the red blade was cut in two as the dagger neatly bisected it like a knife through butter.

"▁▂▃▃▄▄▅▅▅"

An inhuman cry tore through the chamber, a roar of rage and pain as the Blade of Envy started to break apart. The malignant miasma which seemed to naturally exude from Him burst forth like a sudden flood, saturating the very air with rage and despair.

Any other being would have been crushed, drowned beneath the almighty, all encompassing sea of wrath and grief.

But Bell...Bell stood tall, as though he was completely at ease in the torrent of malice which he was submerged in.

Even as the Nameless God made one last desperate lunge with His outstretched hands, he simply turned aside slightly, letting the candle imprinted gauntlet fly wide before swinging round with the still glowing dagger, lodging it where his spear had previously failed to find purchase.

"..."

With a hollow clunk the god fell to His knees, arms hanging limply at His side, the dagger sticking into the now tangible blackness which lay within.

From the side, Bell watched on; a small, sad smile on his face despite knowing that none could see beneath his helm. White motes had begun to flake off of the kneeling figure as pale fingers of light grew from the joints of It's armour. Bit by bit, flake by flake, the defeated giant broke apart into particles like the white snow which fell from the sky above the palace. Soon, the last of the god had broken apart, leaving the chamber alive with millions of white luminescent specks.

Each speck rode on an invisible wind, dancing to an unheard symphony. And suddenly as though by a conductor's command, the sea of white funnelled itself directly into Bell's unsuspecting chest causing him to stumble at the sudden intake of salt.

Steadying himself, Bell turned his gaze to the black archway which had not been present moments ago.

He straightened his back.

"Once more into the abyss."

Stopping only to pick up his lone dagger, the mantled figure slowly staggered into the darkness. Crimson flowers of blood dripping in his wake.

* * *

More candles.

Hundreds upon thousands of ashen cylinders surrounded him, burning with bleached candle fire upon the unending black plane which he stood upon.

It was like a sea, a black sea filled with millions of flickering white stars.

And it struck Bell silent, robbed him of his voice.

This plane, this sea of eternity...

It was, without doubt, the most beautiful place Bell had ever seen.

For a moment he contemplated stopping, simply lying down to finally stop.

At that moment he could think of no better resting place for himself.

But he could not rest. Not yet.

Reluctantly, his gaze left the wonder around him.

There was a well, the path of salvation.

He looked beyond.

The Scarecrow, mouthpiece of the Nameless God, stared back at him from beneath the god's turbaned helm.

The foe he had defeated was naught but the avatar of the Nameless God, his envy and avarice given form.

What now hung crucified before him, was the true wretched form of the Nameless God.

Forever bound and chained by his lust for the one thing he could never had.

Forever a prisoner of his own desire.

The path of dominion.

With measured steps, he stole forwards.

Past the well.

Bell raised his arms to the helm, articulated joints clicking as he gently caressed the metal helm.

If he did this...there would be a price to pay.

With careful hands, the helm was pried from the twisted effigy.

"Be at peace."

His own Umbral Visor vanished, and Bell donned the turbaned helm.

The candles flickered.

And he knew pain.

A tortured scream ripped from his lips as soon as the helm had covered his face. He did not notice that he was slowly being pulled onto the wooden crucifix, did not care that his umbral armour was slowly dispersing into familiar arcane metal. All he could focus on, was the hellish pain his chest as something burned itself onto his flesh.

Each second stretched into an infinity as he writhed on the wooden cross, hands straining against the mysterious force which kept his body anchored to the wooden beam.

Finally, it stopped. The immovable force which had held him so firmly vanished, dropping him to his hands and knees with a dull thud.

Breathing heavily, Bell pushed himself to his feet calmly; as though he had not just suffered like the damned.

"...I understand now." he said softly, raising the familiar candle engraved palms of the Nameless God's gauntlets to his eyes.

This place... The monsters...

They were all memories, harvested from the minds of those who had already yielded to the Nameless God. Nothing more than old horrors granted life through the power of a mad god.

He would know.

He was now that god.

Peering at his reflection within the well, he saw the Nameless God staring back at him.

The invisible presence of the island which had once threatened to devour him now embraced him, comforting him with silent empathy.

He was the master, no, the god of the island now.

Everything that was the Nameless God's was now his. Usurped by the right of dominion.

He was tired.

One last thing remained to be done.

Sitting down gently on the large stone rim of the well, he drank in the scenery one last time. Engraving the sight forever into his very soul.

He called a Bell of Return to his hand.

Even now he could feel the trickle of souls being fed to the island.

No more.

"Devera, deliver me."

The bell rang, a single clear note which echoed across the vast plane.

A tremor shuddered through the horizonless plane.

Bell smiled, the tiny golden chime shining in his hand.

He was still smiling when he leant back and let himself fall into the well as the island collapsed.

* * *

 _Ageless solace_

 _Clasp'd by death_

 _Curs'd no longer_

 _Gasping breath_

* * *

 **I seem to have a knack for making up new crossovers. Read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Chapter 2. Bit of an adjustment chapter, but still should be pretty entertaining. Just to make it clear, Bell will _not_ be joining a familia in this story. Don't get me wrong, he'll still meet Hestia and the others only in a different way.**

 **Regarding the usage of brands, they will be significantly buffed from their game counterparts focusing more on the lore description than the actual in-game effect. For example the Shadowflip brand will actually grant the user 'Mastery over shadows' instead of the simple wall jump effect. That being said however, I don't intend to make them too overpowered bar the Hardlight and Redshift ones perhaps.**

 **Look forward to it.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 2 – Gasping Breath

* * *

"Haaaah..." Hestia sighed, absently sipping at the wooden mug of alcohol held in her gloved hands. Her gaze roamed despondently around the crowded tavern that was The Hostess of Fertility, switching aimlessly between the many patrons and waitresses.

Yet another day had passed, a day filled with fruitless searching and mocking laughter as she tried to find even _one_ person to join her familia.

She let out another long and drawn out exhalation, one of equal parts depression and tiredness. Depression that no-one she asked would be willing to join her tiny familia, and tiredness at...well life in general she supposed. Not that such a concept really applied to gods in the first place but still...

Another swig of fruity liquor burned its way down her throat, sending warmth coursing through he small body. Normally, she would make it a point to avoid this particular tavern; given that her nemesis Loki also liked the place and frequented often with her familia. But today had been particularly trying, and she'd heard wonderful things about the pub owner's special fruit liquor.

Just as she was about to flag down a waitress for a refill, a sudden hush fell across the pub. Muted whispering filled the air as a large group filed in, one after another.

"The Loki Familia..." An adventurer sitting at a table beside her whispered causing her to smack her head against the table. Just what she needed to round off this _fantastic_ day.

She shifted her mug, trying hopefully to hide behind the tall cup and, by proxy, her rival's slanted gaze.

But alas, her hope was in vain. Like a pair of spotlights, the redhead's gaze cut through the chatting masses and locked straight onto the two half-hidden black pigtails. A few short strides forwards saw her shadow looming over the short goddess.

"Oh my~ If it isn't poor little Hestia." she drawled with a smirk as the other patrons and her familia turned to watch the incoming cat-fight. "Has some poor fool finally taken pity on you and joined your little familia?" she crooned mockingly, pulling a few laughs from the crowd.

The busty loli clenched her fists, temper flaring as got right into her rival's face.

"Yeah? Well at least I don't need some poor fool to finally take pity on those pitiful flats that you call a chest!" She yelled, punctuating each word with a hard poke into said 'flats'.

"Why you-" Sparks flew as the two immortals butted heads aggressively, murder in their eyes. The air became thick with tension, and the scent of potential violence hung heavily about them...

THWACK!

Two exclamations of pain rang out as a pair of steaming fists uncrossed from where they'd mercilessly impacted into the craniums of the brewing storm.

" **WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE DOING!?"**

Mama Mia's angry voice boomed, instantly causing both goddesses to bow their throbbing heads in fear. Immortal they may be, but in the Hostess of Fertility there is only _one_ goddess. And that goddess was currently looking down upon them with all the fury one could possess while wearing an apron.

The Great Aproned one glared at them, shadows covering her face as she spoke in a deep guttural tone.

" ** _If_ you are going to fight, you _will_ do it outside of my property or I _will_ end you. God or no god. Are we clear?" **

Two wide-eyed nods.

"Good." and with that the large woman strode back to the counter and continued as though nothing had happened.

The other patrons, including the not-entirely-surprised Loki Familia, could only look on in muted awe at the performance. Seeing Mia lay into a rowdy patron was one thing, but seeing her do the same to a pair of arguing gods with no hesitation was something else entirely.

Hestia and Loki meanwhile were busy rubbing their sore heads, a mix of fear and slight respect in their eyes towards the large woman.

"I-I'll get you the next time midget cow. This isn't over."

"S-same to you...you flat skank."

"..."

Loki twitched.

She sat down at Hestia's table.

Hestia looked at her, surprised.

There was silence

"..."

"..."

"...Sniff."

Loki started to cry.

"...Bwuh?"

Hestia goggled, completely unprepared for the abrupt one-eighty mood swing.

She turned to the rest of her rival's familia, hoping to glean some sort of explanation for the redhead's sudden behaviour only to find them as stupefied as she was.

Except Wallenstein, hardly anything could phase the air-headed and yet powerful girl.

"Err." she tried hesitantly, turning back to the bawling goddess who was now sobbing into her arms. "Loki?"

The sobbing paused, a pair of slitted eyes peeked over to look at the busty loli.

Only to come level with said loli's bust.

"...It's not fair.." she mumbled out before breaking out into a fresh wave of tears.

"Oh come on." Hestia said in exasperation as the puddle of tears continued to grow. She could handle an teasing and temperamental Loki, but weeping wreck opposite her was decidedly out of her range of expertise. Her familia didn't seem any to possess the precise knowledge of dealing with a crying goddess either.

"If there's anyone still up there, I could really do with some help right now." she looked hopefully towards the wooden ceiling as though a solution might have been nestling between the planks.

…

Something wet started to drip onto her lap.

"..."

Her patience finally reached it's limit.

It had been a long day, it was the fiftieth time she had been rejected, her drinking had been interrupted by her rival and now said rival was crying a lake so large it was soaking her lap.

"GOD DAM-"

CRACK!

And then the ceiling exploded. Violently.

Something large and wet breached the boards above them with explosive force, calling down a storm of water and wooden hail upon the two deities. Fortunately, the fabled sword princess made use of her speed to pull them away before the cloud of splinters could skewer them. The table which had been occupied only moments before was torn asunder as whatever the wet thing was crashed through it and into the floor with a loud splat.

A shocked silence settled over the bar, as everybody tried to process the completely unexpected turn of events.

The silence was abruptly broken however by the loud footsteps of Mama Mia as she thudded to the front of the startled crowd once more, flanked by a waitress on each side.

All eyes were riveted to the dwarf as she took slow measured steps towards the settling cloud of dust.

"...Ugh.." A weak groan sounded from the wreckage, halting her advance even as her hands immediately went into guard. Bar owner she may be, but once an adventurer always an adventurer.

Yet what she saw surprised even her, however briefly.

A pair of crimson irises framed with damp white locks blinked at her as they adjusted to the light. Slowly, the...adventurer judging from his clothes, got to his feet; shedding splinters and water alike as he did so.

"Wh...Where am I?" he asked her, water dripping from him as he slowly took in the surroundings through half-lidded eyes.

Mia raised an eyebrow at the question but decided to oblige him.

"You're in The Hostess of Fertility, Orario city." she stated trying to gauge his reaction. Although she'd immediately pegged the mysterious boy as an adventurer, and a low-level one at that, there was something...off with him.

"Orario?" the youth echoed in confusion, getting a curt nod of confirmation in response.

"..Heh." a small smile graced his lips. One of relief and joy. "At long last..." he was still smiling even when he started to keel forwards only to be caught on the shoulder by the dwarf woman.

"Is he..." Hestia's concerned voice piped up from behind her; she was the goddess of the hearth after all.

"Unconscious." she replied before turning slightly.

"Syr, Ryuu." the two waitresses at her side turned to look at her. She motioned to the unconscious boy presently being held up by her arm. "Put him in a room. Ryuu, make sure he doesn't try to run." Both girls nodded, each took one of the boy's arms and started for the stairs, the crowd parting like a wave before them.

"Alright show's over, back to your own business now." she said addressing the whispering crowd before turning back to the bar, her face set in an uncharacteristic frown.

Like receding syrup everybody slowly trickled away to their tables. Some did look like they wanted to ask a question but were quickly quelled by a look from Mia even as she returned to the counter.

Those eyes, she thought. She'd seen those eyes before, back when she had still been a full-time adventurer for Freya.

They were tired eyes, ones which had seen many things. Too many things. Such eyes did not belong on someone as young as he. Not even any of her more than experienced staff had eyes that looked as old as his.

Her attention shifted back to the excited crowd, chattering as though a new toy had just fallen into their sight. By tomorrow she had no doubt that every god would have heard of the mysterious boy who fell from the sky.

She shivered. Heaven help that boy, because the gods would not.

Another shiver swept down her spine. Odd, there weren't any windows open and the fire was blazing merrily behind her...

"Wow, that hole really goes all the way through the roof." One of her feline waitresses commented, as she peeked at the twinkling night sky through the large jagged hole.

"..."

Crack!

Hairline fractures appeared beneath her hand as the wooden counter bent beneath her strength.

A sadistic grin grew on her face.

The gods were going to have to wait their turn with the boy. No-one just broke her roof and got away with it.

While she was laughing manically within her mind however, Hestia was following a very different train of thought.

"That child..." she muttered, peering intently at her fresh mug of liquor, completely lost in thought. For a brief instant, she had felt her power...tingle within her. Something that was almost impossible given that, out of all the currently active gods, she was one of the few that had almost complete control over their divine power.

She looked over at the large hole in the roof, contemplating internally. The spike had been so brief that she'd barely had time to register it, only managing to gleam a sense of odd resonance.

Her gaze turned thoughtful. Perhaps she would pay the child a visit later.

* * *

 _Water surround him, pushing and pulling him as he flopped limply in the current's grasp. The black void around him made navigation impossible as he tried blearily to determine his location._

 _Though he did not drown, Bell felt his consciousness fade as the water slowly stilled before giving way to nothingness._

 _He felt himself falling._

 _Air and water rushed around him as he felt himself hurtle through space. He struggled to keep himself awake, only to find himself slipping._

 _Soon he knew no more._

* * *

Crimson eyes flickered open, before immediately screwing shut as a weak light stung them.

"..Ugh..."

A small groan escaped their owner's lips as he pushed himself upright, eyes gradually adjusting to the half-light cast by the small lamp beside his bed.

...Lamp?

*Rustle*

THUNK!

Before his eyes could register the source of the noise, his body had already acted and thrown an instinctively summoned knife in its general direction.

"I see that you are awake." a cool and collected voice met his ears as the previously unnoticed person lowered what appeared to be a wooden serving tray. The knife he'd thrown impaled two thirds of the way through it.

"Ah..." Bell looked sheepish, still shrugging off the fog that clouded his mind as the person walked over, revealing them to be an elf with shoulder length blonde hair. Judging from the white apron and headpiece, she was probably a waitress or maid of some description.

"Sorry about...that." he started, raising a hand in gesture towards the still impaled throwing knife. "Old habit." He might not have been able to sleep on the island, but with creatures like the Whisperfolk and Hunting Bones lurking around he'd developed quite a level of spatial awareness. And with that awareness, came all kinds of paranoia to the point where his 'official policy' as it were became 'If it moves, it dies. If it dies, he moves on.'

The elf maid said nothing, her aqua eyes boring into his own from where she stood stoically towering over him at the side of his bed.

"Ryuu Lion." she said at last, removing and presenting the butt of the knife to Bell which he took gratefully.

"Bell Cranel." he said with a small smile of gratitude, allowing the knife to fade away into his storage with a small flurry of embers. Well it was nice to see that that still worked.

Ryuu said nothing at the strange sight, but her eyes did follow the embers. A subtle curiosity was reflected within them, though she did not act upon it.

"So..uh, what happens now?" Bell cut in politely, drawing her attention back to the albino.

"Please get dressed and follow me. Mama Mia will want to see you." she moved over to stand by the doorway.

"Mama Mia?"

"The owner of this tavern."

Bell suddenly remembered just _how_ he'd arrived and the rather large...impression it left. Both figuratively and literally.

Granted, falling through three layers of wood and shingle didn't actually bother him that much but it was another story for the layers in question.

"...Will I survive?"

Ryuu gave him a sidelong glance.

"Maybe."

Well...They were slightly better odds than he usually got.

Looking to his left, he quickly found his...old armour and boots? Folded in a neat pile. Well, at least they'd left his shirt and pants on. Pulling on his boots, he decided to leave out the coat and gloves and quickly stored them away.

Turning back, he made to follow the patiently waiting elf until he passed a mirror fixed above a basin of water.

He stopped dead in his tracks, mind trying and failing to explain what his eyes were seeing.

A shaking hand raised itself to his face, even as the visage in the mirror did the same.

"What...is...this." he uttered disbelievingly at the reflection, his reflection.

When Bell had first left home, he had looked like any other fourteen year old sans his bleached white hair.

Now...Now he wore the form of someone at least two, maybe three years older. And his skin... It was pale, nearly white in shade. Like most of the colour had been washed away, leaving only the barest tinges of his former light complexion. If he had been in a self-depreciating mood, he could've described it as ghastly.

"Is everything alright?" Ryuu's voice broke in, snapping him from his growing dilemma. A slight note of concern was present in her tone, as though she had sensed his apparent distress.

No, now was not the time to be freaking out he thought, snuffing out the rising panic with efficient and practised ease. He'd seen all manner of unholy horror and not faltered, he would not give in to a simple reflection; least of all his own.

"I'm fine thank you." he put on a smile "Lead the way."

* * *

When they arrived at the ground floor, everybody had already left and most of the chairs were already being placed on the tables by a lone silver-haired waitress. A large dwarf whom Bell hazily identified as Mama Mia was wiping down the cracked bar with a cloth.

"Mama Mia." Ryuu spoke up beside him, drawing the dwarfs attention to the freshly awakened adventurer.

"Enjoy your sleep then?" she boomed at him merrily.

Bell smiled wanly and replied "Some of the better sleep I've had in..." Years? Decades? Centuries even?

"...a while." he decided on.

"I see." She stuck out a hand "Mia Grand, owner of this here fine establishment."

"Bell Cranel." he took the hand and gave it a firm shake. "Thank you for taking care of me while I was out."

"Ahh, you'll have to thank Syr and Ryuu for that I'm afraid. But before you do that," she gestured towards a table. "D'ya mind taking a seat please." It was not an invitation.

Bell did so, noting how both Ryuu and the other waitress moved to block any direct route to the exit.

It would seem that there was more to this place than met the eye, thought Bell with a small smirk. His fingers twitched, raw power thrumming in his veins ready to be unleashed at a moments notice should things go south. The image of Carsejaw's Umbral armour was at the forefront of his mind, ready to be summoned forth with the barest thought. Thank the forces that were that he had somehow arrived wearing his old beginner's armour; he did not wish to contemplate the panic that His would have caused.

"So," Mama Mia started, "I'll get right to the point."

A pregnant silence followed in which Bell was mentally debating the merits of a strategically placed fireball.

What Mia said next however was nowhere near what he was expecting.

" _ **How are you planning to fix**_ _ **the hole in**_ _ **my roof?**_ " The Great Aproned One growled at him gutturally. And as though to punctuate, a fresh gust of wind swept through the hole in question sending her hair flaring up around her ominously.

Bell blinked.

Fix the hole in...?

" _Pfft."_

He started to laugh.

If there was any doubt that he was not back in his world, it no longer existed. Because there was _no way_ that any denizen of the Nameless Island would be able to say something like 'fix the hole in my roof' like that.

Even as he laughed, he felt the tension drain out of him. Having at least some form of confirmation, however unorthodox it might be, that he was truly free from the island lifted a weight he didn't even notice from his shoulders.

Distantly he realized that he was being a tad bit rude and quickly did his best to calm down. Upon doing so, he refocused on the others with an apology on his tongue.

Only to nearly break out into hysterics again.

Mia and the two waitresses were staring at him, completely blind-sided at his unexpected reaction. Normally, the appropriate reaction to a proclamation from The Great Aproned One was to squeak and do as she said; not laugh like a madman.

Even Ryuu, the cool and collected elf that had apparently watched over him had a slightly poleaxed look in her blue eyes.

Barely holding back another fit, he coughed politely, drawing them out of their stupor. "Sorry about that, but you just gave me final confirmation on something that I've been waiting to know for a long time. Thank you. Thank you so much." he said earnestly with utter relief and gratitude mixed into his tone.

"Your welcome?" Mia didn't quite know how to respond. Mentally she was wondering what exactly could be confirmed from a request about a hole in her roof, her other persona dispelled by the unexpected reaction.

"I owe you and yours a debt, Miss Grand. Tell me what you wish of me, and I will see it fulfilled to the best of my ability." Who knew what might have happened if he landed somewhere less...hospitable. It wasn't that he couldn't defend himself, but the unwanted attention he might've drawn in doing so would have been less than desirable in his current state.

Mia raised an eyebrow "...Fix my roof and then we'll talk." she deadpanned at him. Time to see if he could back up his words.

"Oh yeah." A sheepishly apologetic expression crossed his face; any tension that might have lingered in the air was well and truly gone by now. "I should probably do something about that." Sliding off the stool, he slowly approached the hole in question, noting that the debris was still in a pile under it. What appeared to be two halves of a table lay split on either side. That was good, because what he was about to do would require at least a majority of the broken material.

It was also fortunate that he'd crashed through the walkway section of the floor above instead of a room which would have resulted in a significantly larger mess.

Kneeling down at the edge of the impact zone, Bell gently placed his palms on the ground; fully aware of the three pairs of eyes fixed on him. He closed his eyes, calling upon sleeping power he commanded and willed it to gather in his hands.

Within his mind, Bell slowly drew together his memories of the many Sanctuaries he had visited and poured them into his magic.

A Sanctuary, was safe. Only those who did not wish the harm upon those protected by its walls could pass.

A Sanctuary, was a symbol. Faith was what gave birth to the creeds, a sanctuary was a physical representation of that faith.

A Sanctuary, was sacrifice. Be it through time, labour or even blood, a sanctuary was never created freely. But above all else..

His hands tingled, the inert energy beginning to shift, as though being roused from a deep slumber. Like quicksilver, he could feel it shifting and coiling in his hands. Flexing against the flesh which constrained it eagerly.

"A Sanctuary, is a home." he whispered feeding his intentions into the energy barely restrained in his palms.

Unbeknownst to him, the power gathered in his hands was so dense that weak rays of golden light were beginning to emanate from them. Ryuu made to stop the kneeling boy but was held back by a look from Mia.

"Wait." she stated even though her hand never left the dagger hidden behind her apron. An unspoken 'for now' hung behind her words. Nothing against Bell, but she'd seen too much magic go bad back in her day to not be cautious.

The light dimmed suddenly, drawing their attention back to him.

Bell opened his eyes.

" _Go._ " The single word of Old Dialect ghosted past his lips.

He could feel the power beneath him almost cry out in delight.

And then there was light.

Like liquid gold it flowed from Bell's hands, filling every nook and cranny that barred it's path. Across the floor, up the walls and into the ceiling above it spread, leaving all that it had touched briefly lined in gold.

And just as quickly as it had been sent out, the light came sweeping back, straight towards where Bell's hands had lain. But Bell was no longer kneeling. As soon as the light had departed his hands he had quickly stood and raised both in front of his chest, palms facing inwards.

With the single peal of a great chime and a radiant burst of light, he slammed his hands together, almost blasting his partially blinded audience off their feet.

"Phew." Bell wiped his brow, clearing away the small rivulets of sweat which had gathered. Having little to no experience with his recently gained abilities; doing something like creating a partial sanctuary was quite draining to say the least.

He looked towards the still present pile of rubble, raised a hand towards it, and gestured.

The pile trembled.

Before the disbelieving eyes of the others, the ceiling slowly pieced itself back together. As though time had turned back on itself, the mangled pieces slowly ascended and reassembled flawlessly into the formerly gaping hole.

Even the two halves of the table had stitched themselves back together.

Turning back to his audience, a tired yet satisfied smile on his face, Bell smiled. "That should do it" he said and promptly collapsed to the ground.

The last thing he saw before his vision went dark once more was a head of silver hair.

* * *

When he awoke once more, his eyes immediately identified the familiar sight of the room he'd only recently been occupying. Quite some time had passed, judging by the narrow beams of sunlight streaming in through the gaps in the curtains.

"Good morning." A voice chirped from the foot of his bed. "Although I suppose it's more good afternoon now."

A silver-haired girl slowly stepped into view, dressed in the familiar green uniform which he'd mentally noted as the default uniform in the tavern. Bar Mia of course.

She was quite the looker, much like the Ryuu. Radiant silver eyes were set into a slightly rounded face, brimming with cheerfulness and framed with sterling locks.

It quite honestly took Bell's breath away; the only emotions he'd been used to seeing until recently were feral rage and despondence. Cheerfulness or indeed any form of positive emotion might as well've not existed on the Nameless Island.

Well, blood induced mania probably was in some way considered positive but he didn't really think that counted.

A cough suddenly broke the silence, and Bell realized he was staring.

"Sorry, I just haven't really been able to...look at...people for a while." He mentally winced as the awkward sentence stumbled from his lips. But how else was he supposed to say that she was the first girl whom he'd actually had time to admire in god knows how long? She wasn't dead or a horrible monstrosity either to boot.

"It's fine, it's fine." the girl waved dismissively much to Bell's relief. "Syr Flova." she introduced with a small curtsey. "Ryuu needed to work, so I'm covering for her in the meantime."

"Bell Cranel." Bell replied, swinging his legs onto the floor with a muted thud and giving a small bow in return. "Pleased to make your acquaintance." he said with a smile and extended a white hand.

"Like wise." she smiled warmly in turn, taking the proffered hand and giving it a shake. "Mama-Mia would also like to see you by the way. It's about... whatever it was that you did." her tone lilted into curiosity at the end, asking a silent question. Whatever he had done, it was like nothing she, or the others, had ever witnessed in her life.

Bell thought for a minute, trying to describe what he'd done in a manner that both made sense and did not reveal his true nature. "You could call it a form of... enchanting I suppose." he hesitantly explained. It was technically true, enchanting was the art of imbuing magic into an item; or at least that was what his grandfather had limitedly told him. What he did was just on a slightly larger scale.

"Enchanting? Are you from the Hephaestus familia?"

"Hephaestus familia?"

"You don't know about the Hephaestus familia!?" Syr looked at him, silver eyes wide with surprise. The Hephaestus familia was one of the most well know familias there were, famous for their top-tier equipment and weapons.

"Unfortunately not." he admitted with a small grin of embarrassment, a healthy flush spreading across his alabaster cheeks. To Syr, he looked like a particularly shy rabbit that had just been caught nibbling on a stolen a carrot.

Quite a cute one at that.

"Wha-what?" Bell spluttered, his blush deepening into scarlet.

Syr looked at him, puzzled at his unexplained reaction.

Wait...

Oh god.

"I didn't say that last part out loud did I?" she asked hopefully, fighting a slowly creeping blush.

Crimson tried but couldn't quite meet grey.

"Oh..." red crept over her own cheeks despite her best efforts.

"..."

"..."

To say the silence between the two blushing teens was awkward would've been a slight understatement.

*GROWL*

Bell looked down at his stomach in surprise, suddenly aware of the gnawing hunger in his gut. Having gone without the sensation of hunger for so long, it was quite a peculiar feeling to experience once again.

He looked at Syr sheepishly, "Sorry to impose on you, but do you think I could get some food please?"

Syr laughed, a tinkling sound which fell pleasantly on his ears, before nodding and motioning him to follow her.

* * *

"Start talking."

"About how I fixed the hole or the, uh, side effects?"

"Both."

It was probably his imagination, but Bell could've sworn her eyes had started to glow slightly as soon as he mentioned side effects.

The moment he had stepped into Mia's visual range, she had whisked him into the back room and sat him down in front of her before anyone could notice. Fortunately, Syr had been kind enough to give him some sandwiches beforehand which he was gratefully chomping down now.

"Well," Bell started "the entire explanation of exactly what I did would take more time than you readily have available and involves a good chunk of my...my past, so I'll spare you the fine print." He paused briefly to take another bite of his sandwich and make sure she was following. It would seem that he was not the first one with a dark story to pass through here judging by the understanding look in her eyes.

"I'm a... jack-of-all-trades you could say." he decided on after a brief moment of contemplation. "And one of the things I happen to know is something called a Sanctuary Rite. Without going into too much technical detail, what it is, is essentially a large scale building enchantment that imbues the target with the concept of 'sanctuary', hence the name. One of the advantages offered is that the current owner of the enchanted area can freely manipulate the affected building."

Seeing that Mia was digesting the new information, he quickly finished his sandwich before she had a chance to catch him with his mouth full. It had literally been years since he'd had food. He wasn't about to let it go to waste.

"Regarding the uh... extra-effects." he continued "I'm sure you've already noticed the largest one-"

"Everything was all warm and fuzzy!" a new voice broke in excitedly.

He turned round to where the voice had piped up. It was another waitress, this one distinctly feline in nature. Upon seeing that she'd been noticed, she winked at him and turned back to the dishes she was washing.

Okay then.

"Not quite the choice of words I'd use, but yeah, pretty much that." Swivelling back he continued "As I said before, it quite literally embodies the concept of 'sanctuary' into the designated structure. The 'warm and fuzzy' feeling is a reflection of the nature of the rite, to protect and grant safety. Other than that, any form of monster is warded from passing the boundary. But don't worry, it'll have long since worn off by now."

"It's not permanent?" Mia looked a bit surprised at that, most enchantments she'd heard of that involved buildings could last for centuries.

"The full Rite needs two things to be permanent; the blessing of a god and a physical anchor linked to that god." he explained "The best I could do without one was a temporary partial invocation and use that to repair the hole. Without an either it'll fade away within a few minutes of casting."

Mia was silent for a moment, seeming to appear in contemplation.

Finally, "You expect me to believe that a rookie adventurer, whom no-one has ever heard of, managed to pull that off?" she said it not so much incredulously, but more inquisitively. Not much point denying it after all when the proof was witnessed by both herself and at least half her staff.

Bell winced slightly at the 'rookie adventurer' comment, it was both true and yet so wrong at the same time. "What makes you think I'm an adventurer?" he asked, though his voice lacked any real conviction even to his own ears.

She raised an eyebrow at him and brought out a familiar wooden serving board.

"Enchanters don't throw knives hard enough to pierce through an inch of wood like this." she stated "Nor do they wear armour like yours."

Dang, she was an observant one. Then again, judging by the rest of the staff, this was to be expected. Meh, whatever. He tried.

"...Fine you got me." Bell admitted "I _am_ technically an adventurer by the modern definition. And in answer to your question..." He smiled at her "That is your choice to make."

Mia looked at him long and hard, as though trying to see beyond the sad and perhaps slightly bitter smile that lay on his lips.

"Whatever." she said at last with a sigh of defeat "It ain't my place to pry."

"Thank you for understanding." he replied, thankful of her respect for his privacy.

"I have to ask though, what are you planning to do from here?"

That gave him pause, the smile slipping from his face. His initial plan had been to immediately join a familia after he arrived and take it from there as an adventurer. Now though, he wasn't even entirely sure if a god's blessing would be able to take hold on his soul.

Images of the many beings he had slain flashed before his eyes.

Men... beasts... kraekan... even gods.

Did he even need to become an adventurer anymore? There was no doubt in his mind that he was more than qualified; what with the vast amount of monster slaying experience he had at his disposal.

He glanced down to his hands, where the marks of Hardlight and Redshift lay branded into his palms. Killing was a part of him now. No matter how much he wanted to deny it, a small part of him would always seek battle, seek to spill another foe's blood.

But he was tired of it all.

Visiting the dungeon every once and a while would probably be alright, but just thinking about the idea of killing _more_ monsters for a _living_ caused a great weariness to well up within him. Prior to his escape, his promise was what drove him to grow stronger, drove him to keep marching deeper into hell. Now that it had been fulfilled...

Bell sighed, a deep exhalation that belied his age and seemed to make him appear many years older than he was.

"I don't know." he said at last. The words felt heavy and lost on his tongue. "I suppose I'll just...take a look around. See what I can find. Maybe even get a job." Devera knew, he had plenty of experience in wandering.

Mia simply looked at him contemplatively. As a bartender of considerable experience, she'd become very good at reading people by the subtle (and more often not so subtle) signs they showed.

Looking at the boy before her, she could see warmth that radiated from him, small and bright like that of a candle. But that warmth was drenched in weariness, soaked with fatigue so deep that she wondered how he was able to smile as he did.

"Ah," She was broken out of her observations "I do need a place to stay for a while though, can I rent out a room here please? I can pay you."

"100 valis per night." she replied.

"Excellent." A half dozen coins suddenly manifested in his hand in a flurry of embers, leaving both parties surprised for different reasons.

Mia because she'd never seen him use his ability before, and Bell because the coins were not the unmarked gold disks which he'd grown familiar with, but the distinct marked coins of valis; about six hundred in total.

Well, he thought idly, that was convenient. Given that he'd meant to only summon six coins and exchange their value as raw gold.

"Here you go." the money quickly change hands, leaving him set for the next few days. "Is there anything else you want to ask me?" he asked.

"No, that's everything."

"Right, one last thing then." he held his hand out above the table where three round water skins dyed cyan and bearing the mark of three appeared, each about the size of his palm. "Something to help with exhaustion." he stated before looking at her knowingly "Standing guard all night must have been quite tiring. You can keep the third one as a gift."

Exhaustion and weariness were two things Bell was intimately familiar with. Syr and Ryuu might have been good at disguising the signs, but they could not fool his eyes. Nor Mama Mia's judging by the nod of understanding and thanks she sent his way.

Gifts delivered, he summoned his jacket around his shoulders and made for the door.

"Hey kid."

"Hmm?" Bell paused mid-stride, looking back curiously.

Mia grinned at him. "Make sure to come back here and eat often, a certain someone would be quite disappointed if you just upped and left."

"I'll...keep that in mind?" he replied with a confused look on his face before resuming his stride and exiting to the front room.

"You can come out now." Mia said after a few moments had passed.

For a second, there was silence save for the sound of dishes being washed.

"Mou~ you didn't need to say that." A voice replied even as it's owner stepped out from between the gaps of two large storage shelves to reveal a familiar silver-haired waitress.

"Oh? Whatever could you mean?" Mia feigned ignorance causing Syr to pout at her.

"About me being disappointed if he left." she complained though the pout never left her face.

"Really?" The dwarven woman's eyes gleamed suddenly "I don't recall mentioning your name specifically~" she trailed off, taking delight in the way which the girls cheeks flushed as she tried to stammer a denial. It wasn't often she got to tease her staff, and damned if she didn't take the chance when it was presented to her.

"Nya didn't you give him your lunch as well?" Once more, the feline dishwasher piped up from the background. A mischievous and distinctly cat-like smirk growing on her face.

"That's- Arnya!" Syr's indignant cry of betrayal only caused her smirk to grow wider before she returned to the dishes.

"Oho. Already giving him your lunch are we?"

She should not have been taking this much joy in ribbing one of her staff, she really shouldn't have. Maybe Freya really did rub off on her a bit over the years.

Syr turned back, about to fire back with a no doubt flawlessly logical explanation as to why she'd deigned to give away her lunch to the albino.

SLAM!

Only for said albino to come rushing back through the door and slam it shut behind him, causing her to instead make a small 'eep' of surprise. A wild look of panic was present in his eyes.

"Please tell me you have a back door!" he looked to Mia desperately, back pressed against the wooden door as though trying to hold off a hungry horde.

Which wasn't completely inaccurate mused Mia even as she amusedly jerked a thumb behind her towards the door which led to the back alleys.

"Oh thank god." Nope, they weren't going to be much help, she thought shrewdly.

The teen all but shot towards the doorway, his outline blurring behind him as he accelerated through and beyond to freedom and safety.

Not two seconds later, the door he had been holding back burst open, the horde which had been behind it tripping into the room.

Mia raised her head to them slowly, her face cast into shadow.

" **Looking for something?"** She growled, slowly and deliberately.

Two more seconds later, the door was closed once more like nothing ever happened.

"Still, that was cruel Mama-Mia." Syr continued drawing a vindictive smirk from her boss.

"He broke my roof." she replied "Fixed or not, that deserved a little revenge." The Hostess of Fertility was the result of many years of her and the others' hard work. She hated to see it hurt in any way.

The bar counter was the exception however; that thing got broken too often to really count.

Syr just sighed, before going over to close the back door.

* * *

The instant Bell had entered the alley, his clothing started to dissolve and reform as he ran down the narrow passage. The dull brown jacket and armour plate which covered his chest was quickly replaced with equally dull black wraps, caked with seaweed. A matching set of leggings and gloves quickly joined it, while a wide rimmed Sugegasa fell well below his eyes.

With one final burst of embers, the Yokai Mask covered his face, hiding his pale face behind it's equally pale visage rendering him completely unrecognizable save for his crimson eyes which gleamed behind the eye-holes.

For a while, all he did was run. Bolting around corner after corner like some strange phantom, until he was certain that the ravenous crowd was well out of range. Thinking back on it, he should have realized that his unorthodox entrance would've created a stir, and that showing his face so soon was bound to attract attention like bees to honey.

Slowing to a halt, he leant himself up against a wall though he was in no way short of breath.

"Haa, I'm really here now aren't I?" he said to himself.

Above him the clear blue sky smiled down into the narrow gap between buildings, painting the drab alley in a rustic light. He removed his headgear and let out a contented sigh, simply basking in the warmth of the sun.

"It's been far too long since I last felt the sun."

Closing his eyes, Bell contemplated on his next step in Orario. For now he had enough gold stored up to be comfortable for a while, but sooner or later he'd need another source of income. Perhaps he could find a secluded job somewhere until he was used to dealing with people again. His brief interaction with Syr proved that much.

Then there was the option of joining a god's familia...

He frowned to himself. If he did join a familia, it might not require him to become an adventurer, but it would inevitably lead to gaining a blessing. And that would open a can of worms that he really didn't want to deal with at the moment. Not just regarding whether it was possible, but his new appearance was something that would take some getting used to before he felt comfortable enough to show someone else.

Wait, if his skin was so pale then...Oh lord, he was going to have to start looking at some form of sun protection now wasn't he?

With that pleasant revelation he opened his eyes and pushed himself off the wall, quickly re-donning his sugegasa and mask.

Maybe he should go and find a park. One of the few places he could find solace in had been beneath the curling white branches of the great tree which stood in the Candlelit Lady's alcove.

Yes, that sounded like a good idea.

Course of action decided, the would-be park seeker took one step forwards...

"WHA-!"

And promptly introduced his face to the ground.

"Oww..." Thankfully, his mask and hat were both made of sterner stuff, and were unbothered by the impact.

Picking himself up with a wince (not that anyone could see it) he looked down at his feet to see what it was he'd tripped over.

"A sword?" and indeed it was, a full sized broadsword that had obviously long since succumbed to the tender grip of time. Picking it up easily, Bell scanned the blade, trying to find the smith's signature.

"He...phae...stus." he muttered trying to decipher what little he could see of the inscription. "Hephaestus. That's the familia Syr-san was talking about before. Huh, must be a crafting familia." Turning the blade over in his hands, he found that despite the rust, the blade itself was in relatively good shape; proof of the smith's skill. But there was something...sad about it. A lingering scent of regret and loneliness that seemed to shroud the blade.

He frowned. No weapon deserved to die like this, lying broken and forgotten in an alley. If he knew how to, he would have repaired it hims-

"Wait a minute..."

Then it hit him.

He _did_ know how to fix the sword. He had literally hundreds of memories about the art of smithing that the Nameless God had collected at his disposal. But why stop there, if he could fix one sword then why couldn't he try and fix others or even _create_ others.

A spark flared in his crimson eyes. A spark of determination.

He had a purpose now.

And by gods he was going to fulfil it.

Right after he figured out where the hell he was.

* * *

 **So how was it? Good? Bad? Any points that I forgot to explain or missed? If you notice, please inform me.**

 **Again, this is completely un-betaed, so mistakes will be present.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Right, fair warning about the frequency of updates for this story. As I have yet to read all of the light novels for Danmachi, my knowledge of the storyline extends only up to the anime/ manga. This means that as the story develops, it will become harder and harder to write for fear of writing myself into a corner by accident or having certain key events suddenly be changed. Don't worry though, there is a fair whack of story to go before it gets to that point, so you'll not be starved for at least a while longer.**

 **Another point I'd like to verify is the current chronological timestamp in proportion to canon storyline. As of this chapter, we are still a way away before canon actually starts. Having recently discovered and processed the Sword Oratoria side series, my plans have taken a completely different direction. One which I think is going to be quite promising (^^).**

 **I would also like to thank Godzillaslayer101 for the suggestion of adding snippets of Bell's time on the island. It'll help explain some of Bell's new character traits.**

 **On another note, I may or may not take a stab at either the Nisekoi or RWBY fandoms. Have some pretty good ideas for both.**

 **Betaed by The Aura King**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 3 – Cran

* * *

 _"The new gods?" Bell looked at the old man oddly. As far as he knew, no new gods had descended to the lower world for a while now. And even if they had, calling them 'the new gods' seemed a bit over the top._

 _"You're just a fleshy little bit of flotsam, washed ashore with the rest of us, hmm?" The old man grinned and, despite the cold that clung to him, Bell let loose a shiver that he was sure had nothing to do with his soaked clothes._

 _"You'll want shelter, you'll want sanctuary. But what is a sanctuary without faith?"_

 _"What on earth was a sanctuary?" Bell wondered. though the part about shelter caught his attention._

 _"There's an empty sanctuary up the beach." the old man continued "You can claim it for your creed."_

 _Creed? Claim it? What?_

 _Looking past the old man, he could just make out the hazy shape of a structure in the background, most of it obscured by the light fog which shrouded the shore._

 _Seeing the confused look on his face, the old man merely shrugged before speaking up once more. "You don't keep the new gods? Rare... So you are a pilgrim of Devera? Your sort has been dying out for centuries, I'm afraid."_

 _"Err, I'm sorry who?"_

 _The old man looked surprised. "No...? Do you hold no gods at all? You're either brave, foolish, or from the North." His beady black eyes bore into Bells' own crimson ones. "You don't look particularly brave, but you don't seem particularly foolish either. Are you a Mountainsmith?"_

 _Bell only looked at him helplessly. Nothing the old man had said made any sense._

 _"No? What was your creed, then?"_

 _He opened his mouth to reply that he had no idea what the old man was talking about, that he needed to find shelter and find out where he was._

 _But the words would not come._

 _The air seemed to condense around him, pressing against his body and causing his breath to come in short gasps. Cold that had nothing to do with the sea crept up his spine._

 _"What was your creed, then?" The old man's question seemed to boom cavernously in his mind, driving terrified tears to his eyes as he quailed helplessly._

 _But then he felt something._

 _Something warm._

 _A spark seemed to ignite in his chest, not able to drive away the cold but at least able to make it bearable._

 _Words began to form in his mind, words accompanied by the chime of a thousand bells that whispered comfortingly to him._

 _Slowly, his lips moved and he gave the old man his answer._

 _The answer that he would later realise was perhaps the most important answer he had ever given._

 _"I followed...Devera."_

 _He would forget the strange voice later, mind more preoccupied by the appearance of his first Rotten Walker, dismissing it as his imagination._

 _But_ it _would not forget_ him _._

* * *

There was a decidedly long pause as Bell noticed that he was completely and utterly lost in the maze of twisting alleyways which he had foolishly rushed into.

"Well crap." he stated needlessly. Now he had to find a way to somehow navigate out of a place he'd never set foot in. Brilliant.

"Or..." he slowly muttered as he noticed the gap of sky meters above him "I could take a shortcut." The walls on either side were reasonably close, definitely close enough for him to jump across.

Just as he was about to get into position to ShadowFlip however, a thought struck him.

Did his brands still work now that he was back?! What about his other powers too for that matter!?

Hastily storing away the rusted broadsword (probably should've done that before he was about to jump now that he thought about it), he summoned the first wand he'd found into his wrapped hands, bare fingertips closing around the roughly hewn Saltwood Branch.

With bated breath, Bell gently drew the Weave of Fire and Sky into the rune engraved branch, willing it to form a small spark of Flashfire. Or at least tried to, who knew if the weave even existed here.

To his relief, the tip of the wand sparked before igniting into a small finger of red flame. Trying the opposite yielded similar effects, only he received electric blue sparks instead.

"At least that still works." he said to himself. While he was very confident in his martial weapon mastery, it was always comforting to have a horde clearer in his arsenal.

Deciding to forgo the testing of incantations (Bell had the distinct impression that letting loose with wide area destruction behind someone's property would not be well received), he instead decided to test out a simple light prayer instead.

Extending his free hand to lie parallel to the ground, he was about to recite the blessed words of prayer when a thought struck him with horrifying force.

"Devera..." he whispered to himself in shock." My lady..."

How had he forgotten?

At the start of his journey into the abyss, despair and defeat tempted him at every turn; only to be staved off by both his determination and the presence of Devera. Her light had brought him hope in his darkest hour, had saved him from the darkness, and bestowed him the strength to defeat his last foe.

Something heavy suddenly descend in his heart as the possibility that he had left behind his patron wormed its way into his mind.

"..."

But then he heard it.

A single clear sound, that rang in his mind and resonated with his body. A sound he had thought he'd never hear again.

It was the chime of a single, shining bell.

Bell smiled, his previously growing despair banished before it could truly take root. The subconscious stress and tension which had been building up within him during the last few days due to the sudden change in environment drained from him, his shoulders sagging with relief.

"Thank you, my lady." he knelt down on the ground for a few moments, conveying his thanks to the Lady of Light. After some time, he stood up once more; his heart and mind significantly more at peace with the world around him.

He looked back at the wall that he had eyed previously.

One last thing, to test for now then.

His smile turned into a grin, one that still shone with a glint of childish glee. The ShadowFlip brand which had been branded onto his back alongside the Dart and Vertigo brands began to glow beneath his clothes as he prepared to use its power.

Taking a great leap, Bell sprang from the ground and onto the side of the wall, both legs bent and poised to spring once more to the other wall. But instead of the usual dull flash of purple light that came with the expected burst of inertia, something completely unexpected happened instead.

"Okay then...That's new." The would-be wall-jumper noted as he looked down at his rooted ankles.

Black was coiled around them, thick tendrils of umbra stemming from the darkness of the alley that held him firmly in place.

He scratched his head. Perhaps if he focused on trying to boost off the wa-

Before he could even finish, the shadows twisted and compressed before expanding violently, discharging him towards the opposite wall with significantly more force than he was expecting.

"Huh." was all that the albino said, un-phased by the impending collision as the opposite wall drew closer.

All it took was a quick flex of his muscles and he was once more neatly poised on the opposite wall, tendrils of shadow once more holding him. He'd become quite adept at midair manoeuvring after his numerous attempts at climbing the tricksome tower that lay in the heart of the Pitchwoods.

A small shudder wracked through him at that memory. There were so many broken legs.

Two more quick flips saw him to the top of the alley and onto one of the roofs.

Or at least it should have.

Bell looked down at the empty air below him.

If the empty air had eyes, or indeed any form of ocular organ, it probably would have looked back bemusedly.

"...again?"

Now that he thought about it, he probably should have allowed for the extra momentum and adjusted his trajectory so he didn't overshoot. His new body also had longer legs than he was used to too, so that probably also played a part as well.

CRASH!

He would have continued to lament but was interrupted by another unplanned meeting between his face and the ground.

A sigh escaped his lips. The impact was barely enough to jar him but it did serve to mess up his hat and skew his mask. It was fortunate that both items were functionally unbreakable due to being created the way they were.

With an annoyed heave of exertion, he pushed himself to his feet, thankful that the street he'd landed in was mostly deserted save for the odd passer-by.

"Oh my, are you alright there?" a quiet voice broke in suddenly.

Bell twitched, a testament to his self-control given that the initial urge his body had was to summon the Bonebreaker and crush whatever it was that made the noise into bloody chunks. Back on the island, sudden noise usually meant, that something had peeled itself out of the sodden woodwork and was about try and make you deader than you already were.

"I'm fine thank you." he replied evenly, trying to keep as much of his usual tone out of his voice, mask and sugegasa already back in place as he adjusted the frayed bandolier across his chest.

"I just happen to have a bad habit of falling from great heights." And damn if that wasn't at least partially true.

"I see." the man smiled lightly at him, either out of politeness or because he had no idea what to make of Bell's statement. He had a very effeminate face, with a wide curtain of flowing navy blue hair that reached down to his back. "You are new to Orario then?" he deduced. Not that it was a very hard deduction to make, not many people wore full masks in Orario after all.

"Yeah." Bell replied "Only got here yesterday." he looked at the man hopefully, not that the man could see "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find or buy a map do you?"

The man thought for a moment before gesturing to the building next to them. "I believe that my shop has a couple somewhere. Ah, how rude of me, I am Miach of the Miach familia."

"B-" Bell cut himself off abruptly as he realized that he was about to give his true name while in disguise. To a foreign god, no less.

"Cran." he said at last with a small bow, "Of no familia, at your service." Karmen Cran, or Broken Cran as he had been later known as, was one of the oldest denizens of the island. Once a hunter of beasts and captain of the Liven division of Bloodbrows, he had become but another soul claimed by the island. As a 'hunter of beasts' himself, he found it a fitting alter-ego for his disguise.

"And at yours." Miach returned before gesturing towards his shop "Now I believe you are looking for a map?"

"Yes please. Oh, and I don't suppose you know where I could buy an anvil and some salt do you?" He was going to need an anvil if he wanted to repair that sword. The salt was just to satisfy his curiosity.

"...Come again?"

And with that peculiar request, an even more peculiar relationship was born between the two beings of power.

* * *

In the end, after getting several confused looks from Miach, Bell had left the shop with not only a recently updated map but also directions to the nearest shop that sold quality forging supplies. The Tower of Babel, which stood at the center of the vast city that was Orario, apparently had four entire floors rented by the Hephaestus familia. Considering the nature of that particular familia and the fact that Hephaestus was a goddess of the forge, he was certain that somewhere there would be a place to buy forging supplies. As for the Salt, Miach happened to have some in stock, being a potion crafting based familia, and had generously given him a small pouch of the white dust.

Turning off the small side street that accommodated Miach's shop and onto what he read as the west main street, Bell allowed himself to finally enjoy the scenery.

"So this is Orario." he said aloud as his eyes swept around the wide cobbled street.

Dozens of shops and stalls lined the crowded street, boasting their products to the adventurers that passed. From swords and potions to what appeared to be potato croquets.

The adventurers themselves were a sight to behold as they milled about the crowded main street. Swordsmen, mages and supporters alike walked along the beaten path, dressed in all manner of colorful apparel and wielding an equally diverse assortment of arms. He even saw what appeared to be a large pitchfork strapped to the back of one of them.

But in the distance before him was the defining staple mark of Orario, the monolithic stone structure that set it apart from any other city.

The Tower of Babel, which served both as a building and a seal over the infamous Dungeon which gave the city its name of 'Dungeon city', stood tall in Bell's view. Like a great pillar that appeared to support the sky itself.

It was everything that Bell had pictured all that time ago and more. And for a while he was content to simply take in the sights hungrily as he walked.

A pair of youths suddenly crossed his view, adventurers judging by their armour and the weapons strapped to their backs, chattering animatedly to each other as they raced each other along the road.

Once upon a time perhaps, he too would have excitedly darted his away around the crowd, looking forwards to what his future as an adventurer held. Would have willingly charged into the dungeon to kill monsters and hopefully pick up girls along the way.

Would have continued to chase his dream of becoming a hero.

"..."

At that particular thought, a wave of melancholy tinged with bitterness washed over him.

He had succeeded in becoming a hero, just not in the way he originally thought.

Instead of obtaining his title through dungeoneering and saving people, he had instead gained it through bloodshed and slaughter.

Instead of gaining fame and glory, he had gained naught but silence for his accomplishments.

He was an unknown hero, one recognized by none but himself and the dead.

A hero, that completed a nameless quest against a nameless god in a nameless land.

"A Nameless Hero." Bell chuckled to himself. It was funny, in an odd and twisted way that the title which suited him most bore a portion of his predecessor's own title. His eyes raised themselves to the vast blue sky above him, drinking in the great expanse which had been denied to him for so long.

He would never regret what he did.

But some part of him, some small portion of his heart, still resented his fate.

The same part that held within it a prayer, a single, hopeful prayer.

A prayer that all who stepped upon the bloody hell that was a battle field possessed deep within their hearts. A single hope that could never be extinguished, even by death.

The desperate and pleading desire to be acknowledged.

The desire 'To be exalted'.

He shook his head, trying to shake off the sudden bout of melancholy before he accidentally bumped into someone. Unfortunately, he was a moment to late and had already bumped into a red-headed girl's shoulder.

Hastily muttering an apology, he cleared his head and focused back onto the road. He would have said more, but there was still an awkward tension when he spoke to other people, as though he were perpetually one step out of sync with the rest of the conversation.

But as he walked, a rather prominent problem began to make itself known, namely the growing pedestrian density along the road he was travelling down. It was getting to the point where he would be forced to mingle with the rest of the crowd. In itself, this wouldn't have been much of a problem to most people. For Bell however, who had yet to fully adjust his paranoid instincts, it was a genuine problem.

"Stupid skeletons and their kraekan-shit teleporting." he muttered to himself. Of the many creatures he had faced and slain, the teleporting skeletons had been one of the most frightening and paranoia inducing ones. Able to disassemble and reassemble themselves through the very fabric of space freely, he'd met many a death at their bony hands.

Fortunately, during his brief testing, he had also discovered an almost subconscious suppressor sealing the bulk of not just his... powers... since his arrival, but also his physical strength and weapon access preventing any truly serious accidents from occurring. Even now, he could feel it; like a dam holding back the sea that was his power. All it would take was a small mental command...Nope, leaving that alone for now.

Aside from that though, there was another more obvious reason as well.

"Who is that?"

"Never seen him before."

"Haven't seen that kind of mask before."

Once more, hindsight proved to be twenty-twenty as he cursed the fact he'd overlooked the effect a mask might have.

Granted, the whispers weren't _that_ loud and seemed to be more out of curiosity than anything. The general dress sense of adventurers was pretty out there after all; a full mask or helmet was not unheard of. If anything, it was probably the rest of his clothing that accompanied the mask that was causing the problem.

Nevertheless though, it was enough to draw another sigh from his masked lips. Going back into the alleys was always a valid option, but seeing how easily he got lost the last time and that the map he possessed didn't actually show the alleys, it probably was in his best interests to remain on a clearly marked path.

A sudden gust of wind swept over him, causing him to grasp his frayed sugegusa with one hand lest it be blown clean off his head. Removing his hand, he was in mid step when a shout suddenly cut through the air.

"Hey you! The one with the white hair!" Someone behind him called out loudly. He looked around trying to see who they were calling. That was odd; there was a distinct lack of white haired people in the street. In fact the only one there would've been himse-

Bell stiffened, his hand shooting up to the wraps that should have completely covered the back of his head only to feel the familiar locks of his own hair peeking through gaps between the frayed cloth and hanging out under his sugegasa.

They must've been loosened by the fall earlier, he realized, and the wind just now must have been enough to fully dislodge a few.

"Deep be damned." he cursed under his breath even as he willed the wraps to quickly wind themselves back. Taking a discreet look behind him, he quickly discerned the identity of the one hailing him. Funnily enough, it was the petite redhead with slanted eyes he had bumped into earlier, her previously unnoticed companion, a slim blonde rapier wielder, following beside her silently.

Catching sight of an upcoming alley, he quickly deviated his path and bolted into it as soon as he'd cleared the view of the street, pushing past a potato croquet stall as he did so.

It was going to be difficult to move around if his disguise was compromised; his recent escape from the Hostess of Fertility had proved that much. While running away now would probably cause complications down the line, it was better than being outed on day one.

* * *

"Been a while since this place was this excited." mused Loki as she and her beloved Aiz walked leisurely down the west main street. Almost all the chatter she heard involved the arrival of the mysterious child that had demolished a part of Mama Mia's beloved tavern's roof and nearly crashed into both her and the midget cow Hestia.

Almost every familia it would seem, had by now heard of the famous event (because no-one broke anything of Mia's and got away with it) and were putting out feelers for the elusive child after his reported escape from the Hostess of Fertility not two hours before.

A slight frown crossed her face at that particular memory. She and Aiz had been near the back of the mob that attempted to swarm the albino after he had unexpectedly made an appearance from the back room, only for him to escape back into said room and presumably into the alleys.

The crowd would probably have chased after him, and she herself probably would have sent Aiz after him as well were it not for the unbeatable roadblock that was Mama-Mia.

She shuddered slightly at that. Looking for something indeed.

It didn't stop her and many others from noticing the suspiciously quickly repaired ceiling and table however. Even for a team of expert craftsmen, it was quick work...Nevermind, she would ponder on it later.

Still, not all familias had been affected by the new arrival. The Soma familia's business for instance was undisrupted, which also happened to be her other reason for heading out today.

Mmm. Soma.

She licked her lips. The mere thought of the sumptuous alcoholic beverage, made only by the Soma familia that gave it its namesake, was enough to send her taste buds into phantom throes of pleasure.

Despite what people said about the bizarre familia, none could deny that the god in charge certainly knew his wine.

Not much else, just his wine.

Bump!

Her eyes widened as something bumped into her, causing her to stumble slightly. Looking up, she was met with the back of a particularly dark looking adventurer, their form obscured almost completely by the torn mess of black cloth strips hanging loosely around them like a mottled mantle. A frayed hat of reeds, in equal disrepair, lay almost completely covering their head.

Catching herself just in time, she was just quick enough to hear a mumbled apology before the black figure hastened ahead of her and Aiz, leaving only a lingering scent of sea spray and ocean foam.

"Jerk." she said in annoyance, previous good mood now replaced with irritation. Briefly, she considered getting Aiz to go and fetch him back to her so that she could make him... _apologise_ to her properly.

Scanning the crowd ahead, despite the slight breeze blowing in her eyes, she could just make out the solitary black silhouette against the masses, several locks of previously unnoticed ivory hair hanging out from the frayed black wraps.

"White hair?" she muttered. Wait just a minute...

"Aiz, have you seen that person before?" she asked, pointing at the black figure. No adventurer that she knew of match the description, and even by adventurer standards, their apparel was odd.

The sword princess raised her eyes slightly to regard the person her goddess was pointing out before responding with a single word.

"Unknown."

Well, that was good enough for her. Even if the figure was not the person she thought it was, then she could at least extract an apology from him either way. A win-win situation.

"Hey you! The one with the white hair!" she called out loudly, mentally noting how the one she was hailing appeared to take a few seconds to notice that his hair was poking out before panicking briefly and diverging off into an alley.

"Aiz," she said as the figure bolted into the darkness "I think we just found Mama-Mia's guest. Why don't cha go bring him back here to say and say hi?" The blonde nodded before sprinting into the alley after them. Loki merely grinned and made herself comfortable at a nearby bench.

Very few could out run the fabled blade of the 'Sword Princess' after all, and fewer still could stand up to her in a fight.

* * *

As soon as Bell was sure that he was well and truly out of view from the rest of the street he immediately broke into a run, darting around every corner that he could in an effort to lose his potential pursuers before they could find him.

"Gods damn it." he muttered to himself, "Not even halfway to the tower and I've already nearly been recognized."

Taking a quick glace behind him and finding his wake free of redheads or blondes, he slowly let himself come to halt between two particularly large brick chimneys.

Just as he was about to attempt to get his bearings _again_ , something suddenly burst into his spatial awareness, sending the still air whirling about the enclosed alley.

"Excuse me." it started only to widen its eyes as it quickly deflected the volley of daggers that had been hurled at it.

Once more, before his mind could even register that the thing spoke, Bell's body had already acted. Not one but six daggers had found themselves flying forth in a burst of embers, homing in with unerring accuracy and speed towards the perceived threat.

Just regaining control of his body, he reigned in the urge to follow through with a strike from another weapon and sprang into a sprint; the sound of deflecting metal dimly registering in his ears as he unconsciously willed the shadows to coil beneath his feet and boost him forwards.

"Crap. Crap. Crap." he cursed to himself as he ShadowFlipped from wall to wall, the light footsteps of his pursuer echoing behind him. The mere fact that they could keep up with his current speed and agility meant that they were probably an adventurer, which he probably should've guessed from the sword, and of a reasonable level at that.

Chancing a look behind him, he quickly affirmed that it was indeed the blonde from earlier in the street that was chasing after him, her golden eyes fixed onto him. A narrow sword, perhaps some sort of rapier lay clutched almost loosely in her hand; most likely what she had used to deflect his knives from earlier.

That probably hadn't helped his chances of getting away either, he thought with a wince.

On the plus side though, being forced to free run like this was an excellent way to familiarize himself better with his new body, as well as the ShadowFlip brand which he was currently using to set a blistering pace through the maze of alleys. Guess there really was a silver lining to everything.

Bounding around another corner, he contemplated trying to use the Dart brand to further augment his speed but decided against it, given that it was likely that it too was different if what he could do with the ShadowFlip brand was any indication.

Becoming a red stain on a wall somewhere was not something he tried to actively achieve; even if he was pretty sure that it wouldn't really be enough to kill him.

He sighed, something he found himself doing a lot as of late. At this rate, short of either attacking his pursuer or drawing on his newfound powers, there was no realistic way for him to get out of the situation.

A sudden stab of pain in his cranium caused him to nearly miss a step at that particular thought about his powers; a horde of unfamiliar memories suddenly flooding into his mind. From what he could immediately tell, they appeared to deal with spatial manipulation of some sort.

He shook his head. Partial Sanctuary rites were one thing, messing with space was another thing completely. Better to focus on his current situation, which was looking decidedly worse the more he thought about it.

Even if he did manage to escape, the red-head would probably just send more people to look for him, maybe even getting other parties involved.

No, the damage had already been caused the minute his hair had been recognized, further sealed by his subsequent attempt at escape. The best he could do right now would be to try and limit the spread of the information as much as he could.

Which would have to start with the adventurer who was so diligently chasing him right now.

Coming to an abrupt stop, Bell turned to fully face his pursuer, who herself had also come to a halt; sword raised in front of him.

For a moment, the two merely continued to observe each other unblinkingly.

The first thing he noted was her eyes, deep golden orbs of amber that were set neatly in an almost doll-like face framed by a curtain of long light blonde hair. Her figure spoke of agility, lean and lithe with little to no fat on her frame. A frame that was outlined by a reasonably formfitting white-blue sleeveless dress which highlighted her delightful curves. Dimly, Bell wondered if it was just his luck or if all the girls in Orario were just all generally stunning.

He was not alone in observing however, Aiz too was looking over the person that stood before her. Clad in black tattered wraps with a frayed hat and bone white mask, he cut an imposing and figure against the dimness around them. Yet despite that, she could not sense so much as a shred of intent from him. Malicious or otherwise.

It was quite the peculiar feeling.

"So." Bell started "Who are you?" There, that was a safe enough start. Here was hoping he could keep it up.

"...Aiz Wallenstein." she replied simply after a brief pause of surprise. Almost everybody knew her name, or at least her title of the 'Sword Princess'. It would seem that Loki was correct in her assumption that this was Mama-Mia's mysterious visitor then.

"I am Cran. Nice to meet you, Miss Wallenstein." he nodded politely at her and got one back in return. Definitely not much of a talker. "Why are you following me?"

"Goddess ordered."

"The red head?" He thought something felt a bit off when he bumped into her.

"Yes." She turned around slightly, sheathing her sword. "Please follow."

"Ah, about that... Sorry but I can't do that at the moment."

The girl merely looked at him blankly, causing him to shift in discomfort.

"I only got here recently... Not that I fell through a roof or anything! Wait, no- forget that last part!" he babbled before realizing too late that he'd already put his foot in his mouth.

Aiz merely continued to look at him blankly with a sideways tilt of her head. As though she were not quite sure how to interpret the situation.

"Ugh." Bell groaned, thankful that his mask hid his embarrassment. "Could I just meet your goddess at a later date instead? I have...things to do." Many _many_ things to do. Perhaps he should go and find a park or somewhere similar to relax in first after all.

Amber eyes blinked at him, as though he'd said something odd (previous slip not withstanding) before their owner replied.

"No." She gestured towards the way she had come. "Please follow."

"..."

A tired sigh echoed around the alley as Bell attempted to ponder his conundrum fruitlessly. This was just fan-tas-tic. Not even one full day and his disguise was already compromised, and now he had an adventurer of what was probably considerable prowess on his tail.

Screw it. He tried.

"Then I apologize for what I'm about to do." he said addressing Aiz once more as he bent down on his haunches, arms bent back as though he were about to take off into a sprint.

The sword princess looked at him, one hand coming up to rest on the handle of her sword as she turned back round to face him fully.

Bell smiled at her apologetically, not that she could see it from underneath his mask.

"I'm sorry." he said one last time.

Deep within his subconscious, the limiter that he had unconsciously applied to himself loosened slightly. Enough to allow a small rivulet of power to flow into him.

He grinned, wraps suddenly fluttering to an invisible wind as newfound strength coursed through his limbs, boosting them to several times their previous level.

But he did not stop there. Drawing upon the memory of Karmen Cran, whose name he currently bore, he reached into the Arcane.

* * *

Aiz tightened her grip on her sword as the alleged Cran's aura suddenly surged out from his body. By her estimation, he stood at about the same strength of a below average level three adventurer; nothing she couldn't handle.

That notion was immediately disabused as soon as she felt the blackness that swiftly enveloped his form.

Like a cloying and oily mist, it seemed to flow around the black bandages which he wore, staining them with black ichor that made her skin crawl despite herself.

Instinctively, she drew her sword fully in the face of the filthy power she could feel radiating from her now apparent foe. A foe whom she could now no longer accurately gauge through the vileness radiating from him.

For a moment, just as it was when they had first met, there was silence.

And then, he disappeared.

Her eyes widened.

With a terrific boom, the space between the two chimneys seemed to tear itself apart, as a titanic blast of air pressure erupted into place between them, deafening the blonde sword wielder and causing every window in close vicinity to shatter.

Before she could even fully register the explosion, a hard chop had already slammed into the back of her neck, sending her tumbling into blackness.

"How..." she whispered before falling bonelessly into Bell's awaiting arms; no longer shrouded in the foul energies of the Arcane.

* * *

"Well that could've gone better." Bell muttered with a wince as he surveyed the damage, careful not to jostle the knocked out blonde in his arms. He hadn't meant to cause that much damage just by accelerating behind her to knock her out, but how was he to know that tapping into the Arcane element was that powerful!? Hell, even back when he'd fought the original user of the technique, Broken Cran himself, it hadn't been that powerful.

He winced again, this time in pain as two sharp stabbing sensations made themselves known from his rapidly healing, but still partially shattered, legs. His inexperience combined with the sheer force behind his acceleration had caused both to break and shatter the instant he released his hold on the Arcane energies flowing through him. The limiter however, was still slightly open, and would remain so until his legs healed.

"What the hell was that?"

"It came from over there."

"Hold on, I'm going to take a look."

The sound of voices and footsteps reached his ears, not doubt to investigate the window-shattering explosion he had inadvertently created.

"Oh no."

If anyone were to see him now, they'd misunderstand completely and probably mistake him for an assassin or something.

Or a very far from home boatman; either way it wouldn't be good.

Looking around frantically, he found himself surrounded on both fronts as the sounds of chatter grew closer and closer.

"Rooftop it is then." he muttered to himself as his legs finished repairing just in time for him to quickly store away Aiz's dropped sword, and then ShadowFlip up the still reasonably intact walls and perch himself neatly on the roof.

Not a moment too soon either, he thought as shouts and cries of surprise met his ears from the crowd below.

"That was way too close." he looked back at the blonde quarry in his arms "Now what to do with you?" Good question. One he, unfortunately, was struggling to come up with an answer to.

Finding the red-headed girl that was apparently her goddess would probably be a good start. Problem was, that he hadn't actually been paying attention to where he was going when he had bolted. For all he knew, he could be...

*sniff sniff*

A familiar smell suddenly hit his nose, the smell of fresh potato croquets.

"No way..." setting Aiz down gently on the shingled roof, he crept over to the opposite edge and peeked over. To his immense surprise, he found himself overlooking the very same strip of road where he had first encountered the girl sleeping behind him and her goddess, now slightly less crowded on account of the diversion his explosion had caused. The familiar stall he'd pushed past was a small way upwind from him.

Apparently, in his haste to escape from Aiz, all he'd done was make a large loop.

Well, he thought, he certainly wasn't complaining. Especially since he had just spied a familiar head of red hair at the edge of the crowd below him. But how was he going to approach her?

He ducked his head back over the edge and turned to regard the sleeping adventurer where she lay on the rough shingles. On second thought, relocating to a more secluded and comfortable place first seemed like a better idea. Fortunately, he'd also spied a rather deserted looking outdoor café directly opposite them. Perfect for his purposes for now.

Getting there was the problem though. While he himself could easily jump down, it would not fail to attract unwanted attention, especially considering that he would have to be carrying his passenger with him somehow. Using the Arcane again?

He looked back at the destruction he had caused.

Hahaha, nope.

Unintentionally, his thoughts turned towards the data from the latest info dump into his brain, data that had already processed itself in the time between now and before.

"Well," he said to himself and holding his palms out, the image of the backmost table gripped firmly in his mind, "no time like the present I suppose." While he was still a bit hesitant to attempt what he was about to do, he didn't really have much choice. Plus he would have done it at some point anyway, and if something was to go wrong a difference in timing would hardly change anything.

Power coalesced in his hands once more, reaching out to the world around him, seeking to bend it to his will. And bend it did, like a living piece of fabric he felt the space in front of his hands writhe and twist. Slowly, a door began to fade into view, made of beaten vertical wood planks and with a heavy iron ring as a handle. A door that could only be seen from the side facing him and flickered with white around the edges, just as he remembered it.

Feeling the doorway solidify completely, Bell lowered his hands tentatively before steeling his nerves and pushing it open to reveal...

...a round wooden table and a couple of chairs around it. Whew, no eldritch monstrosities.

Poking his head through to make sure that the immediate area was clear of peering eyes, and that the doorway was stable, he quickly picked up his blonde passenger once more and hurriedly stepped through. The doorway fading into nothing behind him as soon as the door closed. Carefully lowering Aiz into a sitting position with her head resting against the table so that it would look like she was merely sleeping, he once more made his way onto the ornately cobbled road. His sights firmly set on a certain red-headed goddess that was once more lounging on a nearby bench. Obviously having lost interest in the crowd.

He grinned despite himself before slowly creeping up behind her. Call it petty or juvenile, but getting both of your legs shattered _hurt_ damn it!

"So." he started once he was directly behind the unsuspecting goddess, "I heard you were looking for me."

Upon seeing her reaction, he immediately decided that the pain of shattering both of his legs had been well worth it.

* * *

Loki was starting to get a bit worried. Not very worried, her beloved Aiz was a level five adventurer after all, but still just a tiny bit worried. She had expected her to take a few minutes at most to find and bring back the mysterious figure, but a few had slowly dragged into ten, and then that ear-shattering explosion had happened...

Being one of the few lucky ones to arrive first on the scene, she had beheld the destruction briefly before being pushed back by the rest of the rapidly growing crowd. A frown crossed her face, she recognised those kinds of markings. They were similar to the ones left by Aiz when she was training with her [Ariel] magic. But for her to resort to activating Ariel...

"So." a voice suddenly broke into her thoughts from behind her. She turned around, only for her eyes to actually widen in shock and a strangled gasp to come from her throat as she saw who was standing behind her.

"I heard you were looking for me." Crimson eyes peered down at her from behind a bleached white mask, coloured only by two sanguine tears of blood spilling from the eye holes. But that was not what got her attention most, what she immediately noticed was the lack of her faithful familia member's presence.

"How- Who-" she spluttered before regaining herself, much to the man's (for no woman could cut a figure like that) amusement. "Where is Aiz?" she finally managed, slitted eyes boring into his own unflinchingly.

The man merely jerked a thumb behind him where she could see her a familiar head of blonde hair face down on a table. "In timeout." he stated before walking round to face her fully "Care to join us?"

"...Alright." She got to her feet and followed behind, eyes following his movements, analysing, dissecting the man who was able to incapacitate one of the most powerful level five adventurers in Orario.

She was a bit surprised when he went and pulled out a chair for her to sit in first though.

"Oh, gentlemen are you?" she quipped as she took her seat next to Aiz, quickly checking her over. She's just unconscious judging by her even breathing.

"I do try." he replied easily sliding into the seat opposite the two, completely unaffected by her slanted gaze. "I take it you already know of my identity then?"

"You're the one that fell through Mia's roof."

"Indeed I am." the blank visage turned towards her "You'll have to forgive my current getup, but after what happened earlier at Mama-Mia's..." he trailed off.

"What'd you expect? Crashing in through _Mia's_ roof of all things." her tone was considerably more at ease now that she'd verified Aiz's condition "I'm surprised that you're still alive."

"You're telling me, goddess...?"

"Loki."

"Bell Cranel. But please refer to me as Cran while I'm in disguise." she nodded understandingly. "Sorry for harming your familia member, but she was quite persistent that I come to meet you, _despite_ my completely reasonable offer to meet you at a later date due to having prior commitments."

"Yeah, Aiz has never been the negotiating type." No, really?

Bell sighed and put a hand to his mask "Well, now that I'm here, what exactly do you want from me?"

"To talk."

"...Eh?" an expression of surprise found itself on his face, not that Loki could see it.

"Is it really that surprising?" Loki grinned at him "An unknown child falls through the roof of _Mama-Mia's_ pub covered in water. The next day, not only is the damage somehow repaired but the same child is still alive despite past transgressions of lesser scale ending up significantly worse. That alone would mark you as a person of interest to quite a few."

Her grin twisted suddenly, stretching across her face in a manner that only the Trickster of Heaven could accomplish while a shadow covered her eyes.

"But then you managed to defeat one of the most powerful level five adventurers in this city, with no damage to your person what-so-ever. Is it any wonder why a god who left heaven because it was boring such as I would be unable to resist looking into someone as _interesting_ as you?"

Bell merely looked at her, mind currently occupied with filtering what she'd just said. So occupied, that he didn't notice when his mouth moved of it's own accord to give voice to his current thoughts. It was something of a habit he'd developed over time. If there was nobody around to hear you, you tended to think out loud quite a bit he'd found.

"You know you look quite attractive when you smile like that." he said absently.

"...!"

Loki's eyes widened, actually widened, in shock. Whatever she had expected Bell to say, it hadn't been that of all things. As someone who was more...lacking...in the bust department, she hardly ever garnered that kind of attention from the opposite sex. Hell, it was a part of the reason why she preferred girls over men.

And yet a complete stranger had just randomly and completely honestly (she was a trickster god, she knew how to tell if someone was lying) complemented her smile. Her, as she liked to call it, 'scary smile' and called it attractive.

The result?

Goddess Loki has crashed, please hold.

In the meantime, Bell's mind had suddenly and abruptly caught up with what his mouth had said.

"Oh no."

He refocused on the goddess opposite him and found her expression to be a mixture of shock, embarrassment, happiness and who knows what besides.

Yep, he'd definitely just said that he found her diabolical grin to be attractive out loud. For some odd reason, the expression just suited her so well, it made her seem more...herself for lack of a better term. Honestly between her and Aiz he-

He cut that train of thought off abruptly, blood already rushing to his face. Damn it, he thought he had this under control after his slip with Syr.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say tha- Hello? Hello?" Part way through his apology, he became aware that his only conscious audience had been frozen in that same myriad expression for quite a while now and didn't appear to be getting any better.

"Loki?" he waved his hands in front of her face and even poked her in the cheek lightly. Nope, the lights were on but nobody was home.

"Great." he said to himself, scratching his head. Now he had not one, but two comatose girls on his hands.

He looked at them thoughtfully.

Perhaps a small jolt of electricity...

"Yipe!" he gave a small yelp as an unconsciously drawn bolt of discharge sparked between his fingers giving him a mild electric shock. There was a reason you only ever directly manipulated the weave for large scale incantations after all, anything less tended to end up...messy to say the least.

"No shocks then." he conceded wringing out his burnt fingers to blow away the smell of burnt flesh.

Two sets of groans suddenly broke into his thoughts. Spinning back round from his toasted fingers, he was treated to the sight of blinking Loki and a slowly rising, but still quite out of it Aiz. Both apparently roused by his accidental electrocution.

Loki was the first to apparently come back to her senses, expression going from confused, to shock, and finally to embarrassment as the previous events played across her mind.

"So..." Bell started, already rising from his seat as the sword princess began to stir in earnest. "Are you feeling better then?"

"You-..I-..wha-" she spluttered at him incoherently, trying to formulate a proper response.

"I'll take that as a yes." Aiz was nearly up, and he had the distinct feeling that things would get even more complicated if he hung around for much longer. Well it's time to beat a hasty retreat. "I apologize if I offended you, and take full responsibility for any...inconvenience caused. It was nice talking, but Ireallygottagonowbye!"

And with that eloquent farewell, he tipped his sugegasa, turned, and stepped through the already waiting doorway. To Loki, it appeared as though he'd walked into thin air thanks to the perpendicular angle of the doorway.

"..."

"Interesting indeed." she grinned. Beside her, Aiz had finally come to and immediately made an important discovery.

"...He took my sword..."

* * *

Bell in the meantime got the distinct impression he'd forgotten something as he walked out from the alley the doorway had lead into.

Unfortunately, he was quickly distracted by the time, the sun having already started to set in the time he'd spent dealing with Aiz and Loki. Feeling rather tired, he decided to call it a day and just make a doorway back to the Hostess for something to eat. Taking the scenic route would've been nice, but using powers like the Arcane made you _tired_ god damn it.

"Hopefully they have something that's not seafood." he said to himself as he walked back into the alley.

* * *

Whatever Bell had been expecting when he crossed over the flickering threshold of the Door, it was not the knife edge that he found pressed against his throat. Or at least it would have been, if he hadn't already deflected both it and the hand holding it with an upward smash from the Escutcheon, freshly summoned onto his arm from beneath the knife wielder's field of vision

With grim satisfaction, he heard a sickening crunch as the hard metal edge of the heater shield cut into the assailant's hand, sending the short knife flying away. He heard her grunt in pain, but quickly recover and twist round with a kick to his head which was also harshly parried aside on the flat of his shield with a deft flick of his wrist, sending its owner sprawling back, the bag of groceries that had been clutched in their other arm flying to the ground.

Wait groceries... His eyes widened.

"Oh god no. Lion-san?"

He hurriedly dismissed his shield and mask, rushing over to where the elf maid lay crouched defensively, her own eyes widening as her mouth gave voice to his own name.

"Cranel-san?" she asked in surprise, before grunting in pain as her broken hand shifted in her attempt to stand.

"That's me, now stop moving and let me have a look at your hand." he ordered, kneeling down beside her and gently taking her injured hand into his own. Blood dripped from a large and ugly gash, staining his fingers crimson as he assessed the damage which was thankfully, a lot better than it looked.

"Alright, I'm going to try and fix your hand. This might feel a bit weird but please bear with me." he babbled, not noticing how his patient was looking at him with something akin to shock in her eyes as he held her hand in both of his.

Taking a deep breath, he whispered some well used words of prayer, causing his hands to once more ignite with golden light as the prayer of mending did it's work. The series of snaps that rang out as bone realigned and flesh knit itself back together under the prayers power barely phasing him as he focused completely on channelling the power of Devera.

For Ryuu, it was as though something warm had embraced her, banishing the pain as it lovingly spread through her and gathered at the injured areas, leaving only relief where it touched. It took all she had to reign in the sigh of contentment that threatened to spill from her lips at the sensation.

But before she knew it, the warmth had already left as quickly as it had arrived. Leaving behind what can only be described as an odd feeling of emptiness in its wake.

"How do you feel?" Bell's concerned voice cut in, drawing her attention back to the mysterious adventurer who had quite literally fallen into their lives not two days ago.

"Better..." she replied, giving her hand an experimental flex before attempting to stand up slowly."I did not think you were a healer, Cranel-san."

"I'm a Jack of all trades remember, Lion-san? Oh, easy there." a pair of hands steadied her as she rose to her feet.

"Thank you." she said once she was fully standing. "I apologize for attacking you."

"I don't think you could really be blamed for that." he smiled at her "Given what I was dressed in at the time...If anything, I should apologize for not recognizing you earlier."

"Then let us call it even." she replied, already starting to pick up the spilled produce that had been partially scattered during Bell's shield parry. Truly, her adaptability was to be admired to be able to recover so quickly from having her hand broken as she did. But given what he suspected of the nature of Mia's staff, Bell didn't find it all that surprising.

"Sounds good." he agreed, before getting on his own knees as well to help, much to her chagrin.

* * *

 **Sorry for the delay, had a massive writers block when I was trying to write Aiz's character but thankfully discovered Sword Oratoria which helped quite a bit.**

 **Apologies if the chapter seems a bit choppy in some places, I'm still getting the hang of writing proper interaction.**

 **Read and review.**


	4. Notice (No, it's not one of abandonment)

Hello dear readers,

Mage here, and before you even ask; no, I am not abandoning ANY of my stories. And now that that is cleared up, let me explain why I have been silent throughout these past few months. Putting it simply, I am now currently serving my term of national service, which means my free time is basically non-existent right now. So while I would love nothing more than to belt out a new chapter or even a new story, I simply do not have any time to do so right now at least until my vocation training ends.

Training ends late May, so until then expect me to be silently trying to push my way through the bullcrap that the army is laying onto me by the shovel load. After that I will try my best to push out a new chapter.

Thank you to those who still bother to follow my stories, and I shall see you all hopefully with the next chapter.


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